Ghost Guardian
by CrimsonCat101
Summary: Where was he? What about his wife and son? And why could no one see, feel, or hear him in any way, except this kid? [Yondaime's back!] Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto
1. Awakening

CrimsonCat101: I'm a bad girl aren't I? I started another story! It to is of epic proportions!

…

I know, I truly have my hands full don't I?

Well, enjoy! I will probably update ADR, unless this story grabs my attention un-expectantly…

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does however…

REPLACED: 7/29/07 I changed the Fourth's name to his real name Minato. Let me know if you see Arashi's name pop up somewhere, although I think I got them all...

Ghost Guardian

-Awakening-

Kyuubi laughed maniacally as he felt another human die beneath his paw. He could feel, smell, see, and hear death all around him as he rampaged. Thrashing his nine mighty tails, and wreaking the havoc he craved so much.

His tails changed the landscape from a lively forest to a barren wasteland, where only blood seemed to decorate the battlefield. Mangled, twisted, and trampled bodies were spread about the background, drowned in pools of blood.

He laughed as he felt small metal objects imbed themselves within his red fur, only for the weapons to fall out harmlessly to the ground. His body regenerated in seconds, leaving no trace of the previous cuts.

A sinister grin spread across his face, as he swiped his tail at the line of humans who had thrown the metal weapons at him. They died as they were flung across the field, landing in crippled piles of flesh.

It was then that he noticed a giant toad enter the field, the humans around him cheered as they saw the towering amphibian.

The fox growled fiercely at the newcomer, daring the being to attack him. Kyuubi then realized it wasn't the toad the humans were cheering for, but rather the human perched atop its head.

How dare they mock him by thinking that a single human could stop him! He, the Kyuubi, was the greatest of the Bijuu, a testimony of his greater power. They think a simple bag of flesh could even pose a threat to one such as himself? He laughed at the idea, as he charged forward at the last chance of hope the village had left.

* * *

The Yondaime watched the great demon charge blindly into his downfall. The Hokage reflected upon his life, knowing the end was all to near. He watched his life play before him in a mere second, as the Kyuubi dashed towards him. His hands flashing through well rehearsed hand seals, as his thoughts drifted back to the battle before him.

A child…his child lay at his feet screaming from the lack of attention and care. The newborn's scream mixed with the screams of those that lay in pain, from wounds or loss of loved ones.

His mind was clear as finished the last hand seal and shouted, "Shiki Fuujin!" (Dead Demon Consuming Seal)

The Kyuubi stopped in his tracks.** '**_**What is this?'**_

Minato knew the Shinigami was behind him, only he, the user of the technique, could see the Death God. Minato felt the Shinigami's cold hands grip his soul, as he watched the Death God begin ripping out the Kyuubi's soul.

Kyuubi's howls in agony could be heard by all, the pain filled sounds made everyone stop whatever they were doing, and watch the Kyuubi's gigantic form collide, with the hard Earth.

Lifeless.

The Kyuubi's form began dissolving into a swirling mass of energy, that the Shinigami now held in his hand. The God of Death placed the energy into the newborn at Minato's feet. The menacing red chakra seeped cleanly into the seal, until it disappeared entirely.

The Shinigami then faced the Hokage expectantly, **"My deed is done. Now it is time to pay with your soul."**

Minato nodded, and grinned, "I know."

The Shinigami looked slightly confused as to why this human, at such a young age, accepted death with open arms. **"Why is it that you accept death so willingly?"**

Minato looked slightly startled by the unexpected question, but replied nonetheless. "I saved my village. Giving my single life, to save many. If one life can save the pain of hundreds, I see no reason to regret."

The Shinigami then looked at the child, **"What about your son?" **

The Yondaime looked at the small child, knowing he wouldn't be there to watch him grow. He wanted to be with his son, but he knew such a thing was not possible.

"He is my son. He will prevail with whatever tasks he is given." Minato said sternly, believing every word that he had said with utmost confidence.

The Shinigami knew the fate of the child, one such as he knew every beings fate. The man he faced was unlike any other human he had come across. To give up so much to protect others, and believe them to be such kind-hearted souls was naïve. He knew that the child would not be seen as a hero like the man had asked.

The Shinigami then went into thought, what if he meddled with fate's written path? The Shinigami loved to meddle, and to watch the results of his meddling would be very amusing. This human and his son were different from the rest of the human species, to which only fueled his curiosity of the possible results. That's when an idea struck him.

"**Human you are defiantly different from those of your species. You believe the world to be as kind as you, but this is not true. You are very naïve."**

"Why are you telling me this?" Minato questioned.

The Shinigami continued as if he were never interrupted, **"I will give you and your child a gift in ten years time."**

"What gift?"

"**The gift of a guardian."**

Minato felt his soul enflamed in hands of the Death God. As fast as the pain came it left.

He watched as his body fell from atop Gamabunta's head…

Wait! How was he watching himself fall?

Before he could say or think anymore, the world went black.

* * *

Minato snapped his eyes open abruptly, only to see a bright blue sky…

'_Is there a sky in the Shinigami's stomach?' _He thought before getting to his feet, and taking a look at his surroundings.

He was standing in the middle of a bustling street of Konohagakure. _'Konoha is inside the Shinigami's stomach!' _

He mentally slapped himself for that outrageous thought, deciding that wherever he was, it was not the Shinigami's stomach. He chose to learn exactly where he was, by asking around.

People passed by him without sparing him a glance. He found that odd, but proceeded to look around regardless. That's when he spotted a familiar face watering some plants outside a small shop. Minato knew Inoichi, so he decided that this was indeed Konoha. He advanced towards the man, millions of questions running through his head.

"Inoichi!" The Yondaime called as he approached the blond.

The man continued watering his plants, not acknowledging his presence in the slightest.

"Inoichi?" Minato questioned only a few feet away. Wondering if maybe he couldn't hear him, he reached out a hand to grab his shoulder.

However, what happened was not what was expected.

His hand slid right through the man's figure!

As soon as he saw his hand go through him, he jerked back his hand instantly.

What was going on? He couldn't be seen, heard, or felt. Deciding to see if his theory was true he stood in the middle of the street, and shouted, "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!?"

Seeing that not a single person even noticed, he gravely concluded that his observations were indeed true.

"Hey! What the hell are you yelling for?"

Minato whirled around quickly to face the figure that had spoken. He was stunned to find a small boy, with spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, and peculiar whisker-marked cheeks.

"Hellooo, I asked you a question." Naruto waved a hand in front of the man's impassive face.

Minato was frozen as he went into deep thought. _'Okay so this kid can hear and see me…That's a start. Should I follow my only lead or continue searching for others…Maybe I should go along with this kid and find out what's going on first…I could probably find other leads while going with him…Kid it is.'_

When Minato came back to his senses, he looked back at the kid, only to find him glaring at him, his eyes narrowed dangerously in irritation.

"What's wrong?" Minato questioned, unknowing the reason the boy was so angry at him.

"Welcome back Driftwood, I thought you were brain dead for a second there...or mental." Naruto added.

"Driftwood?" Minato questioned cocking an eyebrow at the nickname.

"Well yeah! You got so lost in your own thoughts, that you didn't hear a word I said. I was practically screaming!" Naruto whined, flailing his arms to add effect to his speech.

"Oh, sorry kid. "Minato said sheepishly.

Naruto looked at the strange man as if expecting him to say something. After waiting for a few more seconds under the uncomfortable silence that had befallen the conversation, Naruto finally asked for the answer he was waiting for. "So?"

"So what?" Minato replied clueless as can be.

"Soooo, why were you yelling like that?"

"I was…" Minato began.

"Hey! There he is!" A man called at the end of the street, gesturing with his arm for others to follow him.

Minato thanked the interruption by the man. If he hadn't, he would have been forced to give a stupid excuse like his dead student Obito.

Naruto's eyes widened exponentially, "Gah! How'd they find me so fast?"

The Yondaime looked at him unbelievingly. I mean how would someone not find him? The kid was dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit that screamed, 'I'M RIGHT HERE!'.

Minato noticed that man along with the others were chunin by the vests they wore. He had no idea why the chunin were after the boy, but if he helped him, he might answer some of his questions.

"Hey kid,"

"Yeah?"

"I know a way to lose them."

"Nani?" Naruto asked with genuine curiosity. It was odd for a stranger to help him of all people. No one has ever done that before, so why would someone help him now. He didn't even know the man. If he wasn't careful, he might be stabbed in the back when he wasn't looking.

Could he trust a stranger?

Naruto watched as the chunin approached rapidly, pushing and dodging through the busy villagers in the street.

Without a moment to spare, the blonde man looked at Naruto expectantly, "Well, do you want me to help you or not?"

"Alright…how do we lose them?" Naruto hesitantly replied.

"Follow me." The blonde man said, before dashing off at a light pace. Naruto didn't see it as a light pace however, and had to run as fast as he could to keep up.

Naruto followed him as the chunin began to steadily catch up, before turning a sharp corner into a dank alley.

"Hurry and open this." Minato said as he pointed to ground. Naruto looked in the direction the man was pointing to and shook his head in disbelief.

"The sewers!?" Naruto exclaimed, to which the man answered with a simple nod.

"Hai. Now hurry if you don't want to get caught."

While Naruto began to lift the lid that led to the sewers, Minato extended a hand towards the boy as his back was turned away from him.

Just as he had expected his hand slid through the boy, as if non-existent. Minato sighed and retracted his hand, while Naruto successfully removed the lid and jumped within the hole. Minato followed him, and landed in the murky water. Naruto closed the lid, after Minato had jumped in after him.

Just as the lid slid into place, a group of chunin rounded the corner. They inspected the alley briefly before confusion became etched upon they're visage.

"Where'd he go?"

* * *

Naruto grimaced as he trekked his way through the sewers. The mucky water sloshed at his feet as he trudged through the dirty liquid that ran halfway up his shin. The smell was beyond comprehendible for the young boy, making his nose wrinkle in audible disgust.

"This place reeks!" The boy exclaimed, as he reached a hand to his nose and plugged it.

"Hai, but there's an exit just a little further ahead that will lead us to the market street." The man explained.

Naruto continued trudging through the water, unobservant of the phenomenon that was taking place behind him. The water's path was unaffected by the blonde man. Minato noticed that the water passed right through him, but wasn't all to surprised. He lifted his foot for closer inspection and noticed that he wasn't wet or dirty at all. Of course he could still smell that disgusting fume that filled the air. Minato thanked that the boy wasn't observant. He moved silently through the water, following the said child.

As they made there way to the exit Minato's mind had begun to drift once again…

'_Why do I pass through just about everything? I mean going through the floor doesn't sound so impossible anymore…maybe I can?' _Minato thoughts then centered around making his foot go through the sewer floor. As soon as he did, his foot slid through the water farther then it was previously. '_Well that's interesting...' _He commented. Minato went to continue walking behind the boy when he noticed his right foot was stuck. _'Crap it's stuck!' _Minato cried in thought, as he tried to pry his foot from the water filled floor. Naruto turned around when he heard a grunt from the man, and watched the spectacle before him.

'_Wait! Maybe if I concentrate…' _Minato's foot cleanly dislodged itself from the floor.

Naruto looked at the man oddly, "What was that about?"

"Um," Minato began, _'Time for an Obito excuse!'_, "I was grabbed by some weird fish thing."

'_Gah, there's no way he'll fall for that! What was I thinking?" _Minato thought worriedly.

To Minato's luck Naruto's eyes widened with evident fear, "You mean there might be monsters in here?"

Minato was having trouble holding back his laughter, his lips pursed in effort of holding it in. The kid was truly gullible, that was for sure. It kind of reminded Minato of his younger self.

"Hai, it's possible…" The man mused, failing to hide the smile that spread across his face.

Of course Naruto was too dense to notice such a thing.

Naruto dashed to the exit up ahead, climbing the ladder hastily, and exiting the dirty sewers.

Minato burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer and followed after the kid. His mind still plagued by thoughts…

'_I can pass through a lot of things, including floors, and probably even walls…'_

'_No one can see, hear, or even feel me except this kid so far…'_

'_It's almost like…like I'm some kind of ghost…'_

Minato exited the sewer and stood by the exasperated child.

"You were kidding weren't you? I could hear you laugh down there, it echoed enough for me to hear you know." The child huffed angrily.

The man shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not."

Naruto glared at him before looking in the opposite direction in frustration.

Minato heard could've of sworn he heard the kid murmur something, but it was to quiet for him to hear. "What was that?" Minato questioned.

Naruto visibly huffed once more, still facing the opposite way.

"I said thanks for helping me escape those chunin."

Minato looked at him curiously, "Why were they after you anyway?"

Naruto looked at him with surprise, "You don't know?"

The man nodded, which Naruto only gaped to. "How could you not notice, I mean it's so easy to see!?"

Minato looked at him in further confusion, "What's easy to see?"

"Just look at the Hokage monument."

Minato turned to look at the stone faces, gaping as he did so.

The faces were covered in graffiti. Different paint colors sprawled across the faces of the village's previous leaders.

Including himself.

His face had red swirls on his cheeks, and…and were those EYELASHES!!!

He turned to face the young prankster, his eyes narrowed in an intense glare. Naruto visibly shrunk under the glare, shivering as he did so.

The blonde man then smiled, his smile then turning into a large grin, and then finally into laughter.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at the unusual behavior. After a short while Naruto asked him the obvious question.

"What's so funny?"

The man's laughter died down, until he was able to speak.

"I just find it funny that no one could catch you while you committed such an act. I mean come on, this prank is top notch, but I have to ask what made you do it."

Naruto's eyes changed so fast that it stunned Minato. His cerulean eyes brimmed with undeterred confidence and determination as he looked at the monument.

"My dream is to become Hokage, surpassing all those before me." Naruto proclaimed, in a voice that didn't seem as childish as before, but strong…

"I don't doubt that." The man began, making Naruto turn to him quickly in surprise. "I believe that you will accomplish that dream."

Naruto eyes began to glisten with unshed tears. Minato looked at the kid in shock, "What's the matter kid?"

Naruto looked away when felt his tears threaten to fall.

"No one's ever said that to me…not ever. They call me a fool, a dreamer, a loser, and dead-last, but…I'll show them all. I'll show them that I can be strong. Usually when I state my dream, I'm laughed at, or given silence. You…a stranger had helped me escape, and had even been the first to believe in me, it's not something that happens to me to often…" Naruto said solemnly, before turning back to face the blond man.

'_Why do I feel different around this guy? I don't understand…' _Naruto thought.

"I will become Hokage dattebayo! Also…for helping me earlier, is there anything I could do to help you?" Naruto asked.

Minato brought a hand to rub the back of his head sheepishly, "Um, well…I kind of need a place to stay for the night…if it's okay with your parents that is…"

Naruto grinned, "You can stay at my apartment, and I don't have parents so that isn't a problem."

'_I should have figured…'_ Minato thought.

"Thanks, I really appreciate this." The man said, as Naruto started heading in the direction of his apartment. Minato followed the boy, until he remembered one of the questions he wanted to ask.

"Hey kid?"

"Yeah?"

"How long has it been since the Kyuubi attacked?"

Naruto looked at him with obvious confusion, wondering how the man did not know such a thing. "Exactly ten years from today, why?"

Minato froze in his tracks, _'Ten years!?!?!? What about my wife and s-'_

Minato looked at the kid that he was with him, blonde hair, blue eyes…

"Kid, what's your name?" The man asked in what seemed to be distress. He had to make sure what he believed was true…

Naruto looked at him curiously, "I'll tell you mine as soon as you tell me yours."

"Namikaze Minato" The man said hastily.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said, as he gazed at the man whose eyes widened even more.

'_This kid…is my…son.'_


	2. Explanations

CrimsonCat101: Well here's the update.

"blah" Speaking

'blah' thought 

For news about my stories, look in my profile!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does…if I did, Sasuke would have never worn Orochimaru's clothing (The purple bow outfit) XDDD

REPLACED: 8/29/07 I changed the Fourth's name to his real name Minato. Let me know if you see Arashi's name pop up somwhere, although I think I got them all...

REPLACED: 1/6/08 Made some changes...

Ghost Guardian

-Explanations-

The Shinigami chuckled nervously as he backed away slowly. "Let's not get so mad now…"

The figure to which the Death God was backing away from was a woman who appeared to be in her twenties. She was dressed in white, with black decorative designs that ran across the exterior of the silk kimono. Her body was slender and sleek, and her face too fair to be human. Golden locks fell a little above her waist.

The woman was an icon of female beauty, but as of now her features signified the anger that could burn hell a thousand times over.

"You did it again, didn't you?" She sneered, an unimaginable amount of killing intent directed at the Death God before her.

"Um…hai?"

The woman glared at the being, "Why do change my plans this time?"

The Shinigami looked at her, his impassive countenance back in place, "Entertainment, why else?"

The woman sighed and rubbed her temples in frustration, "You always meddle with my designs for the future…"

"Hai, but I haven't changed any of your designs since the Uchiha Massacre. I'm bored, what can I say?"

The woman looked at him, "I have to say the Uchiha Massacre was defiantly a good tragedy…As long as you don't do anything like that to the Hyuuga clan, maybe…"

"Why are you so fond of the Hyuuga clan?" The Shinigami questioned.

Fate smiled, "Most of them worship me."

Shinigami rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't call it worshipping…"

Fate glared at the Death God, but relaxed in seconds, regaining her calm composure once more.

"So can my change stay?" The Shinigami questioned.

"Hai, as long as you don't meddle anymore then you have." The woman warned.

"Alright, but no spoilers this time. I know your Fate in all, but I want the fate of at least those two to be surprise, the rest I don't care for."

Fate sighed, "No spoilers at all? That will be difficult when you start asking me "What happens next?" You're the reason I tell you everyone's destiny after all.

Shinigami ignored her and opened a small wormhole to watch from.

* * *

'_This kid…was his…son.'_

Minato was shocked.

The kid he was helping was actually his son!

_His _ten-year old son!

How did this happen? How did he end up walking Konoha's streets as a ghost, AND meeting his son? That's when he remembered…

_Flashback_

"**I will give you and your child a gift in ten years time." **The Shinigami stated impassively.

"What gift?" Minato questioned.

"**The gift of a guardian."**

End Flashback 

He wondered what the Shinigami meant by guardian, but he said in ten years time, so obviously it was the Shinigami's doing.

Minato couldn't help but wonder, _'Why would he help someone like me?' _

If only he knew it was simply because the Shinigami was bored…

No matter the reason, the Yondaime was glad.

Glad he could spend time with his son, Naruto.

Naruto watched as the guy, who was now named Minato, went into a state of shock when he heard his name.

'Why does everyone do that when I tell them my name? It's always the same…First comes shock, then comes fear, and then finally hate. Along with that comes the names of 'demon', 'killer', and worst of all…'monster'.' Naruto thought sadly, watching as the man looked at him in shock.

But that same shock surprisingly turned into…something Naruto could not define.

It wasn't anger, hate, or fear…was it affection? Care? Happiness? No. There is no way a stranger could care for him, but why did he look the way he did, Naruto wondered.

"Hey, are you alright?" The Naruto asked curiously. Minato jumped in surprise seemingly cut from his thoughts.

"Uh, I think so." Minato responded, smiling at the boy.

'Why is he looking at me like that?' Naruto wondered, before spinning on his heel and walking quickly in the direction they were heading to previously. Before Minato could question him he spoke, "I want to get to my apartment soon, it's getting late."

Minato cocked an eyebrow and looked at the position of the sun. "It only looks like its only 6:00PM, why the rush?"

Naruto continued walking quickly as he spoke, Minato walked not too much farther behind him with ease. "I'll explain what I can when we get to my apartment, okay Driftwood?"

Minato's eyes narrowed, "Driftwood!? Why do you keep calling me that?" he whined.

Naruto grinned, "Cause your mind wanders too often. When it does, trying to get your attention is like trying to get a rock to speak."

Minato sighed, hoping that nickname wouldn't stick. He dreamed of the day that he would be called Dad or Father, by Naruto. That thought brought many other thoughts along with it.

How would he break the news to Naruto? It's not like he would say…Hi! I'm a ghost who happens to be the Yondaime that sealed a demon in you. And Oh! I also happen to be your father.

Does he even know of the Kyuubi? What about his wife Kushina? Naruto said he has no parents, so what had happened to Kushina? He must also have a guardian with him if he living alone as well, otherwise he would still be in the orphanage.

So many questions, but so few answers. Maybe he should wait a little while before he says anything. Although he would probably have to tell Naruto soon that he's a ghost. It shouldn't take him much longer to figure it out, even as dense and unobservant as he is.

Minato followed Naruto to his apartment, soon realizing that he was walking to the bad side of Konohagakure. There was no way his son lived here…right?

"Are we near your apartment?" Minato asked the child.

"Yeah, it's not too much farther." Naruto replied, still walking quickly to his destination.

Naruto began wondering if he was making the right decision. I mean, he was inviting a stranger to his apartment, and on this particular day of the year. He couldn't trust people easily. Many of which he trusted had betrayed him, so why was he giving this guy a chance? Minato seemed different from the others though, he didn't know why. It just made him feel at ease when he was around him, almost…

Safe.

He didn't know how to explain it, he just felt it. He would give Minato the benefit of the doubt. He just hoped his mind was wrong, and his heart right…

"Here we are." Naruto said as he entered the complex. Minato wondered why Naruto was living in such a rundown place. He observed the cracks in the walls…the bad paint job, the dust, the bugs…the list never seemed to end. Minato looked at Naruto who was grinning, as he seemed to do most of the time.

Minato looked at him in concern, 'Something is off about that grin…'

"Hey Izumi-san, I have the rent for my apartment." He said to an old woman behind a desk. The old woman had gray hair, pulled up in a ponytail. She wore a simple civilian-like kimono wear, that showed that she had a thing for modesty. Slapping a bunch a ryo on the wooden desk for pay.

"Well it's about time, demon! Next time you better pay on time, otherwise you'll be on the streets!" The old woman snarled.

Naruto looked at her in surprise. She never had acted like that when he had company.

Minato looked at the woman with anger. Pure rage coursing through his veins, while he shook with controlled fury.

How dare she say that to his son! Even it wasn't his son, what she said should never be said to a child! He also saw the unbelievable amount Naruto had handed her for rent. The money he had handed to her was enough for a nice two-bedroom apartment. Minato knew by the way the complex looked this was probably not the case, and she was probably ripping him off. Then there was the word the woman had called Naruto…

Demon…

Was Naruto not being treated like the hero he had thought he would? Was his last wish not fulfilled?

Minato ran a hand through his hair as a massive headache seemed to surface. He really hated having so many questions, with so few answers. The questions seemed to keep increasing to, but his answers were so limited it was driving him nuts! He learned as Hokage that patience was the best way sometimes, and it seemed like this was one of those times…

Naruto wondered why Izumi acted that way with someone else's presence. He however shrugged it off and walked to the stairs that led to his room. Minato followed him in a trance-like state, seemingly caught in his own thoughts.

Naruto walked to his door, and pulled out a set of keys from his pocket. He fiddled with his keys for a moment until the right key was found and then pressed into the door. A click sounded before the door was swung open, revealing a small living space.

The kitchen/living room was nothing short of small. A ragged couch was placed against the wall with a small fridge near it's left side. A round table was positioned across from the couch with two wooden chairs on each side. There was a petite counter on the fridge's left side, nothing special. The walls were painted white poorly, and there seemed to be cracks in the walls. He looked around by the doorway while Naruto made his way to the window and snapped it shut.

Naruto then turned to Minato, "You can come in you know."

Naruto turned to his bedroom, after he had spoken and began picking up his clothing that had lazily been tossed to the floor.

His bedroom, was also small. A bed sat on the right side of the room. The bed's spring mattress was old and beat, seeing that the springs were sticking out of it, making it uncomfortable for anyone that slept in it. A small wooden side desk was placed beside the bed, where his alarm clock was set. A closet was across from the bed on the left side of the room. A few precious hangers were hung inside the closet, where Naruto had begun hanging his clothes from.

Meanwhile Minato stepped in and went to shut the door. However he found that he could not grasp the handle. He desperately tried grabbing the doorknob, but his hand continuously slid right through it. He sighed heavily, knowing that he would have to explain his 'condition' to Naruto. He wondered how Naruto would take to the fact that he was spending the day with a ghost of all things! If he was anything like himself, he would be safe. If he was anything like his wife, well…he wouldn't try to even think about that.

Naruto walked back to the living room, only to find the door still left wide open.

"Hey, shut the door will you?"

"I can't." Minato said sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders in the process.

"What do you mean you can't?" Naruto asked confusingly.

"Well I mean that…um…just watch." Minato said as he reached for the door, only for his hand to turn ethereal before sliding right through the door handle.

Naruto watched the man's demonstration with widening eyes. "Whoa! How'd you do that!?" Naruto cried out, incredulously pointing a finger at the bizarre phenomenon.

"What this?" Minato grinned, as he brought his arm up towards the door, and stuck his arm through. His hand appeared on the other side, to which Naruto seemed at a loss of words to.

His son's reaction made Minato grin. He was defiantly like himself, and thankfully not like his wife.

His wife was more violent, and usually jumped to very irrational conclusions. Naruto seemed to be more like himself, where he would be astonished before asking a bunch a questions to no end.

Although he wondered what it is going to be like to be on the other end of the multitude of questions…

"Whoa, that is so cool!" Naruto shouted with glee, as Minato withdrew his hand back from the door. "How'd you do that? Was it some type of jutsu? Is this some kind of majic trick? "Are you a ninja? Can you do that with other parts of your body or other objects? Can you do that all the time? Was tha-"

Minato's eye twitched, 'Am I really that annoying when I do that? No wonder Jiraiya always hit me over the head when I started asking questions. My God, just make it stop already!' Minato cried in thought, as Naruto continued on with his barrage of questions.

Minato was about to slap a hand over his son's mouth to silence the onslaught of words, but he remembered how he would just pass right through him, and that might make Naruto question him even more!

"Naruto."

"Could you help me with pranks? Is that a Kek-"

"Naruto!"

"-kei Genkai? Can I learn how to-"

"NARUTO!!!"

"…"

"Thank you. Now I can already assure you this isn't a jutsu, or Kekkai Genkai. Or even a prank or majic trick for that matter." Minato explained.

"Then what is it?" Naruto interrupted with a questioning glance.

"Not what is it, but what am I, is the real question here."

"Okay, then what are you?" Naruto questioned.

Minato grinned, "A ghost."

Naruto looked at him in complete shock. He was standing and talking with a freaking ghost. "Okay, um then how come I can see you?" Naruto questioned, after recomposing himself.

"Not only see me, but hear me also. That I am not quite sure yet, but I do have a theory. You'd have to listen to a long story though to understand." Minato explained.

"I don't mind." Naruto said as he sat on his couch. Minato however continued to stand, wondering how Naruto would take this. I mean, he was about to flip Naruto's world upside down. He guessed by the end of the story, that Naruto would be angry at him.

"Okay, where to begin…"

Naruto interrupted his thoughts, "Hey, before you start I have one more question."

Minato looked at him, as he was snapped abruptly out of his thoughts, "Go ahead."

"Can anyone else, but me, see or hear you?" Naruto questioned.

"Not that I know of." Minato answered, "Okay I guess to begin the story is to first know who I am."

"Huh?" Naruto looked at him in confusion, question marks appearing over his head. "What do you mean by that? I know your name already."

"Yes, but Konoha knows me by another name." Minato elaborated, raising a finger.

"I still don't get it…" Naruto replied.

"Take a look out your window." Minato said pointing a finger to the window Naruto had previously shut.

Naruto looked at him oddly, before standing up and walking over to his apartment window. He slid it open with ease and looked outside. "So what am I looking for exactly?"

Minato walked up next to him as he spoke. "On the mountainside there are faces. One of which is mine."

Naruto looked at the stone faces carved in the mountain. The faces were of the village's Hokages. Leaders of the Leaf. There were four stone faces currently. The Third was the old man who now held office. The Sandaime was very kind to Naruto, and was the only one who seemed to care about him.

"So you're saying you're a Hokage!?" Naruto said in awe as he looked at the man.

Minato nodded and smirked, "Hai. Now tell me which one." Minato was proud of his rank as a ninja. He worked hard during the time he was living, to become a Hokage, which everyone respected.

"Okay…umm…" Naruto gazed the faces, the Shodaime was on the left side so he started there.

'Okay, he looks nothing like the Shodaime, because Minato has spiky hair. He doesn't look like the Nidaime either…hmmm…the Sandaime is the ojisan, so can't be him. That only leaves the Yondaime…THE YONDAIME!?!?!?!'

"Yondaime…" Naruto breathed, turning to look at the man before him in a new light.

"The one and only!" The Yondaime grinned, before walking back to the room. He couldn't hide the grin that had spread across his face as he watched Naruto's dumbfounded expression. "Alright now that you know who I am, let's continue."

Naruto nodded dumbly, as he shut the window and sat on his couch. Naruto couldn't believe that a ghost of the Yondaime was standing in front of him of all people. He was even talking to him, and it wasn't in disgust! If this was a dream, he hoped he wouldn't wake up.

Now came the part the Yondaime feared, a serious expression quickly replaced his grinning one. "Okay my story takes place ten years ago, on October tenth when the Kyuubi attacked. You see I was warned about the Kyuubi no Kitsune a day prior to the attack. I immediately began working on a seal that would save us all."

"A seal?"

"Let me finish," The Yondaime said. "As I was saying, I began working on a seal to stop the Kyuubi from destroying the village. However after extensive research and studying, I found one cannot kill a Bijuu. The only way to kill a Bijuu was to seal it, using a self-sacrificing jutsu."

Naruto looked down remembering, the fact that the Yondaime did indeed die when he defeated the Kyuubi. As the Yondaime's words replayed through his mind, he wondered what the Yondaime meant by sealing Kyuubi and not killing it. Does that mean the Kyuubi was still alive? Naruto waited patiently for his answers…

The Yondaime continued, "The worst part was that the Kyuubi could only be sealed within a newborn child. This is due to the fact that a newborn's chakra coil system can adapt to a new presence more easily then an adult's. For you see, if it were sealed in anything other then a newborn, the Kyuubi's chakra would be rejected and thus kill the host and freeing the Kyuubi once more. So I had to seal it in a newborn, one that saved the village from certain destruction, and became a hero to the people of Konoha. That newborn was you, Naruto."

Naruto looked down as he spoke in a voice somewhat akin to sadness, "So you're saying that…I'm the Kyuubi…"

Naruto remembered how he was treated by the villagers…the glares, the anger, the hate…All of it was always directed at him. And now he knew why…

The Yondaime's look was calm as he spoke, "Naruto, I can already tell you I don't like what I've seen so far of Konoha."

Naruto looked up abruptly, wondering what the Yondaime was getting at.

"I've seen a taste of how the village treats you, and to say the least, I'm disappointed. Not by you Naruto, but by this village…" The Yondaime's faraway look then turned to one that was firm and strong, as he looked upon Naruto, "Naruto remember this…you are not the Kyuubi, but it's jailor, while it is your prisoner. You and Kyuubi are two separate entities, locked in one body. You are the vessel of Kyuubi, not the beast itself. The village is unable to see this, and even if they did, when they see you, they see a scapegoat of their pain. You are an icon of their pain, but you aren't the pain itself. My final wish was for you to be seen as the village's hero, but I see that this was not fulfilled, as I believed it would. They see you simply as the beast itself, but you are not. Understand?"

The Yondaime was angry with the villagers for what they had put his son through. He didn't know exactly what they did, but seeing where he was living, and how the woman at the desk had treated Naruto…He could only guess what they had put Naruto through.

Naruto nodded, before looking at the Yondaime, "So you're saying the reason they hate me is because you sealed a demon in me?"

The Yondaime's eyes filled with sadness knowing what was coming next, "Hai." His muscles tensed knowing Naruto would surely explode in full-blown anger towards him. His anger was not without reason, knowing that he was responsible for ruining his son's life.

Naruto's face was hidden by his blonde hair, unreadable to Minato. When he lifted his head up it revealed a smile.

Minato was shocked to say the least, but he became even more shocked when Naruto started laughing. LAUGHING!

Naruto laughed loudly, as tears streaked down his whisker-marked cheeks, in what appeared to be…happiness?

As Naruto's laughing began to die down, Minato asked the question he had wanted to ask. "Why were you laughing?"

Naruto smiled as his laughs died down completely. "Because I just found out that the reason everybody hates me is due to something I had no control of. They don't hate me! Just the stupid furball in my stomach!" Naruto exclaimed as his tears of joy began to dry up. "I thought it was something I did. To find out the reason everyone hates me, takes a huge weight off my shoulders. Although I have to ask why you put it in someone like me, instead of someone with parents who could watch over them?"

The Yondaime knew the answer, but he would only give half of the answer for now. "Do you know anyone else born on October Tenth?"

"Um, no."

"Well then, there you go."

Naruto sighed and sunk deep into his couch, "Wow, what a weird day…"

"You and me both." Minato commented.

"Oh yeah, you never told me your theory as to why you're a ghost and why only I can only see or hear you."

Minato looked at him in confusion, before it clicked. "Oh right! I guess I got sidetracked during the story huh? Let's see…when I used the jutsu to perform the sealing I summoned the Shinigami, but you see something happened…"

"What?" Naruto questioned curiously.

"The Shinigami spoke to me, and told me that in ten years, he would give me and you a gift," The Yondaime explained, his eyes peering at the floor below him in deep thought, "A gift of a guardian, is what he called it, but I don't know exactly what he meant by that. After that I woke up here, and met you."

Naruto nodded, with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes closed. "This day just keeps getting weirder huh?"

Minato nodded in agreement, his arms also crossed and eyes closed. "Most defiantly."

They sat in silence digesting all that happened until Minato spoke, "So do you have a guardian to look after you?"

Naruto shook his head sorrowfully, "No, I lived alone since I was six. The Sandaime used to check up on me every so often, until about a year ago. I guess things started getting busier…He still visits me, just not so often. He visits at least once every month or so. He visited me yesterday to make sure I was prepared."

The Yondaime looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean by prepared?"

Sadness filled Naruto's features, "Prepared for my birthday."


	3. Academy

CrimsonCat101: I'm sorry to say, but my updates may be slightly slower, because school started I have no idea at the moment. This chapter was created so fast because I was influenced by your reviews. My BETA (mimicv18) also gave me this fabulous plot twist that will truly make this story unique (laughs maniacally) This is also THE LONGEST CHAPTER YET! (grins) So enjoy!

Also I read all your reviews and visited your profiles (Grins) hey I need to know who you are.

I did change the Yondaime's name because YourAngelStandingBy's point. The point was I would probably get morons who would say "His name's not Arashi it's Minato noob!" I couldn't agree more...

REVISED: 1/6/08 Made some changes...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does…If I did the Yondaime's name would have been revealed sooner, but just his name. I do own my reviews however! (grabs reviews) MINE!

Ghost Guardian

-Academy-

The Yondaime looked at Naruto in bewilderment, wondering what he meant by being prepared for his birthday. Now that his son mentioned it, he remembered Naruto telling him today was _exactly_ ten years from the Kyuubi attack, and since Naruto was born that same day…Today was his son's birthday! The Yondaime grimaced, knowing it was also the day the Kyuubi attacked…now he understood.

Naruto looked outside the now closed window as he spoke quietly, "On my birthday of every year, ojisan assigns ANBU to protect me. But, that didn't start happening until I reached the age of six. Before then…I fended off on my own. This day holds many painful memories…memories I wish would lay forgotten, however I will always remember the pain I endured this day. At least the ANBU can protect me now, so I don't have to worry as much, just so long as I stay indoors during the night. I never understood why their hatred became worse on this day of every year. I thought it was because something I did, but at least now I know."

Naruto turned to face the dead Hokage with a smile on his face. "I'm happy that I know the truth, and now I guess I owe a thanks to the Shinigami when I meet him. Let's just hope that's not to soon."

The Yondaime was startled by how well Naruto was taking things. The former Hokage rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, while not looking at Naruto directly. "You know Naruto, I don't understand why you're not angry with me for ruining your life so much."

Naruto blinked innocently, "Well, I just figured you didn't have any other options at the time. If you did, then you would probably be alive at the moment and me, well, demon-less."

Minato gave an honest smile at the young blonde. This kid is a great hero that Konoha might miss out on. He was surprised the village couldn't figure out the fact that Naruto was an innocent child, with such a good heart. When he looked at Naruto, he saw an uncanny resemblance between him and his son. It seemed like Naruto had gotten most of his looks, however, Naruto's cerulean eyes may be the same color as his, but they held the same warmth as Naruto's mother. Naruto's loud attitude was also a trait given to him by his wife, Kushina.

The more he thought about Naruto and Kushina's similarities, the more he became worried about Kushina. He looked at Naruto with genuine curiosity, "So Naruto, do you have any idea about your parents?"

Naruto looked at Minato with obvious confusion, wondering how such a random topic was brought up. "No, I was alone since birth…well, at least as long as I remember anyway."

The Yondaime leaned against the wall, his eyes cloudy with sadness. _'So that means Naruto grew up alone as an orphan, with the burden I gave him to make his life even worse. Kushina wouldn't abandon our son, so she must have died… Is this the future that my family was given? I worked so hard, and that stupid demon has to ruin everything!'_

Whatever other thoughts the Yondaime was going to have, were suddenly broken by the loud crash of the window glass breaking.

"Shoot!" Naruto cried, as his instincts kicked in and he attempted to move further away from the incoming projectile, while he was seated on the couch. The projectile happened to be a rock with a note attached to it, and it landed a safe distance away from Naruto. The rock was the size of two shuriken in diameter. Minato hadn't moved from his spot on the wall, knowing that the projectile was no danger to either of them, having predicted the projectile's path beforehand.

"Naruto are you alright?" An ANBU asked, as he stood on top of one of the poles that extended from the apartment building.

Naruto got up from the couch and nodded, "Yeah I'm fine ANBU-san."

The ANBU nodded in reply, "Alright, my squad has already apprehended the citizen responsible for this. He will probably be charged with vandalizing and attempted assault on another Konoha citizen."

Naruto sighed, "Thanks ANBU-san."

The ANBU nodded before disappearing into the night once more.

Minato was currently gritting his teeth in anger, as his fists were clenched tightly by his sides. If he was ever brought back to life, forbidden jutsu or not, he would first go on a bloody rampage. He knew if the ANBU weren't assigned to protect Naruto, many other things would probably have happened. His son might have already been dead. Oh the things he wished to do right now…

Naruto walked over to the rock, and bent over to pick it up for closer examination. He took the note, attached to the rock, and read it with hardened eyes.

_A Demon Scum such as you should die the most gruesome of deaths! A monster does not deserve to live_

Minato read the note over Naruto's shoulder, and immediately scowled in a way that would put Sasuke to shame. His fingers twitched with controlled anger, anger he could not release.

Naruto crumpled the paper in his hands, and tossed the rock and note into the garbage that was placed near his table. As Naruto saw the darkened sky, he knew it was time for bed, especially if he wanted to wake up in time for the academy.

"I think I should get to bed, it's 9:30PM already. I have to get to sleep if I want to get to the academy by 7:00" Naruto said as he made his way to his bedroom.

Minato nodded in understanding, as he gazed at the blackened sky outside the now broken window. Minato realized he wasn't even tired, so he wondered if even needed to sleep.

Naruto shut his door and began to get dressed into his pajamas. Naruto began to think over the day's events, but most importantly Minato. For some reason, the Yondaime seemed to care about him. Naruto also felt that Minato was different from normal people, although it may be just the fact that he's ghost, Naruto wasn't sure. All he knew is that he liked to have the blonde Hokage's company.

Naruto finished getting dressed into his nightly clothing and opened the door to his bedroom.

"You can sleep on the couch if you want." Naruto offered the man.

The Yondaime looked at him before politely refusing, "I don't think I need to sleep actually, or eat for that matter. I think it may be because I don't have a body…either that or no longer living."

Naruto sheepishly grinned, "Okay, then you can just hangout I guess. Though, with all that happened today I completely forgot about dinner. I think I'll have a quick cup of ramen before I go to sleep, because now that I remembered, I'm starving."

Naruto quickly made his ramen in three minutes and devoured it, while Minato watched him do so. Minato cried anime-style tears as he watched Naruto eat the noodles, '_Noooooo, that means I can't eat ramen, and the only thing I can do is watch my son eat it! I can even smell it! I'm not hungry, but I sure do miss that delicious taste…'_

Naruto finished eating and went to sleep in his bed. Naruto tossed and turned for about an hour before he could finally fall asleep on the battered mattress. Minato stood over the bed, as he watched his son's sleeping form.

"Sleep well, Naruto…" Minato murmured, before leaning against the bedroom wall. He watched over his son, as he was occupied himself with his own thoughts.

'Ghost Guardian huh, I think now I understand...'

* * *

Naruto awoke to the unpleasant ringing of his alarm. He tried to open his eyes, but he found it difficult to adjust to the morning light that shed through his bedroom window. As soon as he could open his eyes fully, and see clearly enough, he shut off his alarm and looked at the time it designated. 6:15AM was the time shown on his digital clock in green lettering. 

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, before drowsily walking to his shower. He walked into his bathroom and shut the door, before discarding his clothes and entering the small shower. The hot water only lasted about two minutes before it turned cold, due to the cheap apartment's water-heater.

He went through his morning activities like any other day, until realization hit him. Naruto then remembered what happened the previous day, and wondered if maybe it was all a dream. He knew that it was crazy enough to be a dream…

He prepared his ramen and sat at his wooden chair, as he looked at the steaming noodles. _'Maybe yesterday was all a dream.' _Naruto sadly thought, before grabbing his chopsticks. He was about to begin eating his ramen when a certain ghostly head shot out of his bowl.

"BOO!"

"Ahh!" Naruto cried in surprise, his chair flung backwards and hit the floor with a thud.

Minato walked over to the fallen blonde and sheepishly grinned, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself," he explained.

Naruto's eye twitched audibly, "Uh huh. You just _had _to make me lose trust in my own ramen." Minato laughed nervously, while Naruto stood back up and fixed his chair. Naruto began to eat while Minato waited patiently, for him to finish. Naruto set down his empty bowl and turned to the blonde man, "So yesterday wasn't a dream huh?"

"Nope!" Minato grinned.

Naruto sighed, "Well I got to go to the academy, so I guess I'll see you later."

Minato blinked, "See me later? I don't think so."

Naruto looked at the Yondaime in confusion, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Minato grinned, "I'm coming with you obviously. If I stayed here I'd be bored out of my mind."

Naruto was about to exclaim 'You can't do that!', but remembered that no one else would even know that Minato was there.

"Alright, I guess you can come if you want. Let me just finish getting ready and we'll leave." Naruto walked over to his dresser in his bedroom and took the goggles set on top of it. He put the goggles on his head and adjusted them, while looking at the small mirror that was located in his bedroom.

He returned to the living room, and looked at Minato. "Alright I'm ready, let's go."

They exited the apartment and began walking towards the academy at a relaxed pace. The streets were filled with busy villagers, who stopped every so often to send the blonde a glare. They were about halfway to the academy when Naruto turned to Minato, "So, what did you do last night if you didn't sleep?"

Minato grinned, "I trained."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "You…trained? Why would you train if you can't even touch an opponent?"

Minato gave a short chuckle before replying. "Not that kind of training, more like what I can do in this form. I practiced going through walls and floors, as well as creating solid surfaces."

"Solid surfaces?"

The Yondaime nodded, "Hai, you see I can lean against a wall, or sit on a chair as long as I believe it to be there. This applies to the ground as well. Then I thought, 'what if I believed the ground or wall to be somewhere it isn't?'. This then allowed me to learn how to 'float' if that's what you want to call it."

Naruto scratched his head, "Um, I don't think I quite understand…"

"Alright, then I guess I'll give you a demonstration." Minato stopped walking, then proceeded to take a step onto the air, and then another. Naruto watched with widened eyes, as Minato climbed up invisible steps until he stood with his feet at Naruto's shoulders. The Yondaime smirked, "Cool huh? However it takes quite a bit of concentration, so I don't prefer to do it all the time." Minato fell back down to the ground, "You know, you only have about five minutes until class starts…"

Naruto snapped out of his daze, "You're right, but man, I wish _I _could do that!" Naruto continued walking, but something felt different…He looked around wondering what it was that was making feel weird and immediately noticed it. The villagers were giving him odd looks, and not the usual ice-cold glares. He wondered why that was.

"What are they looking at?" Naruto questioned as he looked around.

Minato chuckled, "Just the fact you're talking to me."

Naruto looked at the blonde man in confusion, "What do y-…oh, I get it." Naruto just realized it must look odd to others if he was talking to thin air.

Naruto grinned sheepishly, "Heh heh, oh well. There's the academy now."

The academy had parents standing outside, dropping their kids off before they went on their way. A swing attached to a tree was located not to far away, where Naruto usually found himself when he was depressed.

Naruto walked through the academy doors then down the hall, Minato following him the entire time. He opened the door to the classroom, and noticed that he had two minutes to spare until class started. Naruto walked up the stairs and towards the seat that was located next to the brooding Uchiha. Minato stood next to Naruto with folded arms and a smile plastered on his face.

"So this is your class, eh Naruto?" The Yondaime looked around, observing each student.

He saw a boy with his hair pulled up in a ponytail, with his head on the desk, obviously sleeping. He could tell by his lazy attitude that it was a Nara.

Looking to the Nara boy's right was a Hyuuga, judging by the pale lavender eyes they all share. She was poking her fingers together and muttering indecipherable words under her breath. A hint of a blush told Minato that she had crush on someone in the classroom.

Below the Hyuuga, sat a boy with Inuzuka facial markings. The smug look on his face suggested that the kid had a cocky attitude.

On the other side of the classroom in the back was an Aburame. Aburame's always seemed to wear those large coats and sunglasses, something the Aburame's shared in common other then bugs.

Looking on the other side by the Nara sat a rather…overweight boy. The boy was devouring a bag of chips as though he hadn't eaten in days. Minato knew the child was an Akamichi, their family jutsus usually revolved around their weight.

Then there was the Uchiha that sat next to Naruto. The way he held himself showed that he had a high amount of arrogance like any other Uchiha. Though there were a few exceptions, 90 percent of the Uchiha population was arrogant.

"I see you got an Uchiha in your class huh? I'm guessing he's as arrogant as any other Uchiha."

Naruto snickered, "He probably puts the rest to shame."

"Dobe."

Naruto turned to face said Uchiha and spoke in a mocking tone, "Yeah teme?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Who were you talking to?"

"No one." Naruto replied simply.

"Hn. Whatever."

Minato watched the two's conversation with interest, he had an Uchiha in his academy class and he knew exactly how to irritate him. He would have to teach his son how to do it, because if Naruto was anything like himself, he would enjoy striking the Uchiha's nerves.

At that second, a crash resonated throughout the room, right before two girls entered the class screeching at each other. However they were stuck in the doorway, as they both tried to enter before the other.

"Move it forehead girl! I need to get to Sasuke-kun!" The blonde one shrieked.

The pink-haired girl scowled in obvious refusal, "No way Ino-pig!"

Minato slapped a hand to his face and shook his head in disbelief. These two girls were nothing but fan-girl crazed lunatics to him. It was dangerous for a kunoichi to be focused so crazily on boys, that they abandon their training. That type of behavior usually led to death. Not to mention pissed off _real _kunoichi, who are insulted by such behavior. He remembered that Kushina always was disgusted by how the fan-girls flirted with him. That was something he liked about her... He guessed it was okay for there to be fan-girls in the academy, but as soon as they became genin they would have to drop that behavior. Otherwise it could mean unnecessary deaths…

The two girls managed to make their way through the doorway, pushing and shoving their way towards Naruto.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted, with a slight blush adorning his face.

Minato saw the telltale signs of a crush from his son, and restrained himself from slapping his forehead once more.

"Move it idiot! I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" She screeched, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

Ino growled at Sakura menacingly, "I told you I was going to sit by Sasuke-kun today forehead girl!"

Minato sighed then turned to Naruto, "You know, I would move to a different seat now before it's too late."

Naruto looked at the Yondaime confusingly, "What do you mean by that?" Before Minato got a chance to answer, Naruto turned back to Sakura.

"Hey Sakura-chan, you can sit next to me if you want." Naruto grinned.

"Ugh, why would I want to sit by an idiot like you!" She snarled. "Now move it!"

Sakura pushed Naruto off of his seat, and sat down next to the Uchiha. Ino scowled and then replaced Sakura in the seat, "Sorry forehead girl, but this seat is mine."

Naruto watched the two's squabble from the ground, trying to ignore Minato's "I told you so." He eventually got back up, and walked to the empty seat next to Nara Shikamaru. Naruto sat in the chair with a pout, being forced out of his seat once again made him upset.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto, "Girls are so troublesome, aren't they?

Naruto sighed, "Yeah…"

Minato looked at the classroom door a second before it opened, revealing a silver-haired chunin. Mizuki stood in front of the class, before turning to the two girls who were screeching at each other. "Get in your seats!" The teacher commanded.

The two girls became silent, Ino stayed in her seat next to Sasuke while Sakura angrily sat at the seat next to Hyuuga Hinata. Ino mocked Sakura with her victory by sticking her tongue out.

Once the class was settled, Mizuki explained to the class why he was late, and Iruka was not here. He told them that there was a meeting with the Hokage, and then Iruka had to stay after to help the Hokage pass out mission scrolls.

He then went into a boring lecture about the history of Konoha. Naruto folded his arms on his desk, and laid his head on top of them. Shikamaru was already soundly asleep, while Naruto was beginning to slightly daze off, that is until Minato got his attention.

"Hey Naruto."

"Yeah?" Naruto questioned in a voice more toned down then the norm.

"I forgot how boring lectures were in the academy." Minato said, "I mean, meetings still beat this in boredom, but it's still boring.

"If you think Mizuki-sensei is boring wait until you hear Iruka-sensei." Naruto grumbled.

"Naruto, would you mind telling us the name of the energy ninja use for jutsu?" Mizuki asked, making Naruto jump in surprise at the unexpected question.

"Uh, C-Catra?" Naruto stuttered. Naruto didn't even realize when they had switched from the topic of history to shinobi skills.

Minato looked at his son in amusement, "Actually it's called chakra."

Hearing the answer from his 'ghostly friend' Naruto corrected himself quickly, "I mean chakra! Yeah that's it!"

Mizuki inwardly scrowled at being given the correct answer, but hid it well enough for none to notice. He was hoping that catching Naruto off-guard would make him answer incorrectly, he was wrong however. Mizuki always held a large hatred for the demon spawn, and now was his chance to pick on him with Iruka gone.

Mizuki smiled, he would just have to stump him with another question, but it couldn't be way too difficult, else the other students would catch on, not that it would matter…

"Alright Naruto, then answer me this. Can you name one of the branches that a tokubetsu jounin can specialize in?" Mizuki asked, the class then turned to Naruto.

Minato of course knew what the chunin was doing, _'That's not something an average academy student would know…' _Minato turned his attention to Naruto, who was already showing some kinds of distress. Naruto obviously thought that he was supposed to know the answer, and the pressure was already getting to him. Naruto didn't even know what a tokubetsu jounin itself was.

"Naruto, say interrogation." The Yondaime said, still eyeing Mizuki sternly.

Naruto nodded slightly, but enough for the Yondaime to pick up, "Um, interrogation." Naruto's nervous voice rang out through the silent classroom, making Mizuki turn slack jawed in bewilderment.

Mizuki didn't even want to ask for Naruto to repeat his answer, he just changed the subject. He would get the demon yet.

Minato wished he could give this teacher a _friendly _talk, about how he looked and acted towards his son. He knew it was nigh impossible, but he wanted to help his son any way he could at the moment.

Mizuki grew a sinister smirk on his face before it melted into a smile as quick as it came. "Alright," Mizuki began, clapping his hands together in front of his chest, "we're going to be reviewing the bunshin no jutsu today. Your goal in this review is to create one perfect clone of yourself, more is fine to, as long as you make sure one of them is fully functional. Now line up in front of me and I will call you out to perform the jutsu, I will then mark you accordingly." He finished.

Naruto groaned, "I suck at Bunshins…" Naruto watched as everyone stood up from their seats and had begun to line up, including Shikamaru.

Minato looked at Naruto, "You do?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I'm the dead-last, I'm bad at just about everything…but I'll still be Hokage dattebayo!" He proclaimed as his usual boisterous self.

Minato shook his head with a knowing smile, _'Just like Kushina, can't stay negative for long.'_

Naruto lined up, standing between Shikamaru and Sasuke. Mizuki went down the list, each student passing the set goal of one good clone.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Mizuki called out, as the raven haired boy stepped out of the line and in front of Mizuki. His hands were in his pockets as he walked to the front. He wore a blue shirt, with the Uchiha symbol clearly shown on the back, along with white shorts. He smirked, before putting his hands in a seal. There was a small explosion of smoke, before five more smirking Uchiha's were present.

"Five bunshins? As always Sasuke you outdo the others. You will probably be rookie of the year again." Mizuki commented with a smile, marking the Uchiha with a score that showed how highly his skills were regarded.

Sasuke's face was smug as he walked right past Naruto. Minato watched as the Uchiha passed by him and Naruto with that high and mighty look on his face. The average Uchiha usually had a kunai stuck up their ass, but Minato thought this one had a kunai the size of a fuma shuriken (windmill shuriken) lodged firmly up his ass.

Minato looked at Sasuke with calculating eyes, he knew the name Sasuke. That was the name given to the younger brother of Uchiha Itachi. Minato wondered if Sasuke would become a prodigy like his brother, it already seemed like he was the type where everything was given to him on a silver platter. Itachi's brother or not, it seemed like he was treated a little too well, it wasn't like he was the last Uchiha alive.

If only Minato knew.

He settled to ask Naruto later as Haruno Sakura was called up next. The pink-haired girl performed the jutsu perfectly, making two perfect bunshins beside her.

"See that Sasuke-kun! I did it perfectly, just for you!" She squealed in fan-girl mode. Minato sweat-dropped at the outburst, wondering if her thoughts revolved solely around the Uchiha, looking at her, he knew he was probably right.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Mizuki called. Naruto stepped forward, his eyes set in determination. Naruto _wanted_ to do good this time. The Yondaime Hokage was watching, and he couldn't help but feel like he needed to impress him. Naruto put his hands into the required seal, and his chakra coursed around him. The Yondaime watched Naruto with calculating eyes, noting everything he could pick up with his senses. He could already sense that Naruto was outputting way too much charka needed for the technique.

"Bunshin no Jutsu." Naruto called out, before a puff of smoke was emitted next to him. His gaze fell towards the cloud of smoke, as it slowly dispersed. Minato didn't move from his standing position, his arms still firmly folded across his chest and hi electric-blue eyes locked on the figure that was becoming slowly visible in the cloud of smoke.

The class erupted in laughter as they stared at the poor excuse for a clone that Naruto had created. The clone was lying on the floor disfigured and pale, a rather sickly looking thing. The clone dispelled, and Naruto looked at the floor in despair as he heard the laughter that racked his ears.

Minato knew it was probably the Kyuubi that messed with Naruto's chakra control. The fox made it so that Naruto had a large chakra supply, but a large chakra supply means harder chakra control unfortunately. Bunshin no Jutsu required such a small amount of chakra that it would almost be impossible for Naruto to do it, he wasn't even sure it was possible at all.

"As expected by the dead-last." A voice called from the end of the line.

"Idiot." Naruo heard a Sasuke fan-girl comment.

"You should just give up being a ninja now!" A cocky loud-mouthed boy called from the back.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but that was probably the worst performance all day. That's a zero. I suggest you start practicing that at home." Mizuki said, hiding a smirk he wished to show.

Naruto's expression was unreadable because of the shadow that covered it. Minato looked on in sadness, guilty from the problems he had caused his son. He couldn't help but feel that all of his son's misery was because of his actions.

Naruto lifted his head to show his grinning form. "Heh, I'll get this jutsu down! And then I'll be Hokage! Just wait!"

The class laughing continued, until the next person was called. Minato knew that Naruto's grin was fake, he got a long enough look to tell it was part of a mask he had been putting up for who knows how long. Naruto walked back to his seat, while Minato followed after him.

"Naruto," Minato began. Naruto lifted up his head and grinned.

"Yeah?"

Minato kneeled down to Naruto's level, "Don't digress from your dream, and never give up. Never let their words get to you, and you will be well on the road to Hokage."

Naruto's grin shrunk to a small honest smile, "Thanks." He muttered.

* * *

The bell rang and the class filed out as well as Naruto. Minato looked at Naruto as they exited the academy building, "Naruto, I have an offer for you." 

Naruto tilted his head curiously, "Really? What is it?"

The Yondaime grinned, "I wish to train you. I want to help you become strong, so that you can take whatever path you chose, even the path of a Hokage."

Naruto stopped walking, "You-You mean it!?!?" he exclaimed.

The Yondaime nodded, "Yep, I fee-Ack!" The Hokage was stopped short when Naruto jumped at him to hug him in thanks. However Naruto had phased right through Minato and crash-landed with the ground face first.

The Yondaime chuckled, "I guess that's a yes, huh?"

Naruto jumped back to his feet, seemingly unharmed, "Hell yes!"

Minato smiled, "Well I guess we'll start right after you eat, but first…"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "But first what?"

Minato pointed at Naruto's clothing, "We get rid of that orange! I refuse to work with it! We go shopping first." Minato's eye twitched, wondering why Naruto had to pick up his wife's sense in style. Kushina always loved bright colors, _especially_ orange.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Naruto asked confusingly, pulling at the cloth.

"I won't train you unless it is disposed of." Minato said firmly. Naruto looked at the Yondaime in disbelief. He began to think, '_Orange…training…orange…training by the Yondaime himself…orange…hmmm' _

The Yondaime watched as Naruto had to actually _think _about it! He covered his face with a hand in disbelief.

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the Yondaime, "Alright it's a deal."

The Yondaime nodded, "Good, then let's get to it."


	4. Training Begins

CrimsonCat101: (sheepishly grins) Well uh, can't say this took long, because well now that school started amoung other things I'm quite busy, so updating will take longer then before. But not like once evry three months or something like that...

Well I hope to see more reviews from you people, becausethey might just make me motivated to write.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does however...but when has that changed?

Revised 12/6/07 Changed the weight explanation

* * *

Ghost Guardian

-Training Begins-

(October 11th, Monday; 4:30 PM; Training Field 29)

After eating ramen, Naruto went to training field 29, where he stood in the clearing seemingly alone. However unknown to anyone the blonde was actually talking to a special "friend" of his.

"So how strong will I get, if I do this training of yours." Naruto asked with genuine curiosity.

The Yondaime smirked, "Well, let's just say one of my students became a chunin by the age of six."

Naruto's eyes became wide in realization of what Minato had just said. "SIX!?!?"

Minato nodded, satisfied with Naruto's expression, "That's right, and if you do everything I say, I'll make you stronger then he is now."

Naruto nodded eagerly. He would do anything to become that strong, he had to fulfill his dream of becoming Hokage, and this was exactly what he needed.

"Alright," Minato began, "I guess we'll get started, but where to begin…" The Yondaime looked Naruto up and down. Naruto was still wearing the ungodly orange jumpsuit at the moment, but that would change later when Naruto could go shopping for a new wardrobe.

"Well first you'll stretch and then will begin with taijutsu for starters. I'll teach you the basic katas of my style, because the more advanced katas will be over your league. We'll be working on your speed later when we get you some weights, but for now we'll work on style. Before we even do that though, you should stretch your muscles out…"

Naruto grinned excitingly, and energetically began stretching, finishing in about fifteen minutes flat. The Yondaime suppressed the sigh he wanted to release. Naruto looked like he was going to be a handful to train, Minato knew that training Naruto was going to be no easy task, this looked close to certain. Though, Minato had to wonder where Naruto got his hyperactive personality from, because it certainly wasn't from himself, or his wife for that matter. Minato wondered if maybe it was just a unique trait to Naruto, or that maybe…Naruto had developed his boisterous personality to deal with the hardships of his life, like a mask. He hoped it was not the latter, because it made him feel guiltier for what he made his son endure through…

"Driftwood! Helloooo!" Naruto called, while waving a hand in front of the man's impassive visage. The blonde man gave no response whatsoever. Coming up with an idea, Naruto let a mischievous grin spread across his face. He slipped into his academy taught fighting stance and threw a punch towards the Yondaime's expressionless face.

The Yondaime snapped out of his stupor as the instinctual sense of danger approached. Minato lifted an opened palm to catch the tiny fist, but it unexpectedly phased right through, and continued its path towards his face. Minato's body tensed as it waited for the impact, but it never came, instead Naruto's fist was halfway through his face.

"Ha! Psyche!" Naruto laughed as he retracted his arm, and pointed at the priceless look on the Yondaime's face.

Minato growled childishly, a throbbing vein clearly present on his head. "That wasn't funny!"

Naruto laughed harder, "Yeah it was! You should've seen the look on your face!"

Naruto chuckled as Minato growled angrily. The dead Hokage wanted to stomp his foot and whine like a child, but he resisted such temptations. Minato then took a deep calming breath to regain his composure. "Let's get to training, shall we?" Minato questioned, to which Naruto whooped in joy.

"Alright! What's first?" Naruto questioned, his hands pumped up in tight fists by his sides, showing just how excited he was to start training.

'Heh, I'll just get back at him later.' Minato thought, before blinking back into reality.

"Well first we'll begin with the basic form for my style." Minato began. Naruto's puzzled expression stopped him from continuing.

"Um, what's a basic form anyway?"

Minato was having a tough time digesting the fact that Naruto seemed to know nothing about taijutsu style. He wondered if Naruto learned anything in the academy, because a civilian would seem to know more about being a shinobi then Naruto at the moment.

"A basic form is another way of saying your fighting stance." Minato explained monotonously.

"Oh…." Naruto voiced, rubbing the back of his neck from embarrassment.

"It is quite alright, now why don't you show me your fighting stance."

Naruto complied hastily and shifted into the fighting stance he had been taught. As the Yondaime studied Naruto's current stance, he suppressed the urge to stomp off to the academy and strangle the teacher who had taught his son taijutsu. To say the stance Naruto took was poor, was like saying Orochimaru was creepy, in other words, a large understatement.

Minato spoke in an overly cheerful voice. "Naruto, who taught you taijutsu?"

Naruto hesitated as he could feel the sudden change in mood, "Um, Mizuki-sensei."

Minato growled angrily, his fists clenched tightly by his sides, as though he were strangling the very last breath out of the said man. He knew Mizuki was bad enough, but now he had to add the man to the list of people he would kindly ask the Shinigami to send to the deepest pits of hell.

Minato placed his calm countenance back in place as he looked at Naruto, "Alright, now I'm going to fix your stance. The form you are using right now is suicidal…to say the least. I'm actually surprised you don't trip over yourself."

"Actually I did…multiple times."

Minato looked at him in concern, "What do you mean?"

* * *

(Flashback) 

Sasuke sighed, "Why must you challenge me constantly, when you already know I'm superior?"

Naruto growled, "Because you always get on my nerves! You think you're so much better then everyone else! Like you're the only one capable of doing anything! You think your just so high and mighty! That's why I'm going to beat you so bad Sasuke-teme! This time I'll wipe the floor with you! Then I'll prove your not as great as everyone thinks!"

Sasuke smirked arrogantly, "Just try it dobe."

The class gathered around the two, knowing the fight was about to begin right outside the academy doors. The spectators watched with eyes unblinking, waiting for their 'prized Uchiha' to set the dead-last back in his place.

The two got into their stances, the whispers increased from the crowd.

Naruto's frown deepened, right before he charged at the raven-haired Uchiha. As soon as the fight began, it was over. Naruto had then tripped over himself and fell onto the unwelcoming earth. The crowd erupted in full-blown laughter, pointing and sneering at the blond idiot.

Sasuke's expression was impassive, as he watched Naruto get back up onto his feet, and brush himself off.

"You're not even worth my time dobe." With that said, the Uchiha turned a full 180 degrees and walked away.

"I'm not fished teme!" Naruto roared, his fists clenched at his sides.

A boy called from the crowd, "Hey dead-last! How are you going to become Hokage when you can't even run properly? Some Hokage you'd make!"

"I'd be surprised if he even became a ninja at all." A girl with light blue hair commented.

"Ninja? Are you kidding? I'd be surprised if he even survived as a civilian."

Naruto couldn't take anymore, wanting only to get away from the laughing eyes of his classmates. He wondered why everything he did was only to be either laughed or glared at. Everything, no matter what, always resulted in more pain for him to suffer in. But it seemed that's what everyone wanted. They wanted him to be sad and miserable, hurt and lonely.

He would never give them the satisfaction of winning though, so he set his mask in place. Letting the fake grin cover his depressed features.

"Hah! I'll just get him next time! Just you wait! And then I'll become the Hokage!" Naruto declared loudly, a silly grin slapped on his face. The crowd dispersed quickly after, all the while whispering about the dead-last's latest mishap.

Naruto's grin vanished as soon as no one was looking, and he dashed towards his apartment, for he needed to be alone, away from the glares, hate, remarks, and now the eyes of his classmates.

* * *

(End Flashback) 

Naruto's eyes were unfocused and distant as he remembered one of the many painful memories that he had lived through. Minato waited for the answer to his question patiently, for he knew the look in Naruto's eyes told him that he had brought up a few bad memories.

Naruto's eyes snapped back to reality, and he looked away, not daring to stare at the Yondaime directly. "Let's just say I've tripped over myself more times then I can count. And it didn't exactly lead to the best of situations…"

The Yondaime nodded, and decided to change the subject, "Alright, just get back into your stance and I'll correct you to my style's basic form."

Naruto nodded, and got back into the very uncomfortable position.

The Yondaime pointed at Naruto's right foot, "First bring your right leg closer towards your body, and the point your foot slightly inward." Naruto did as he was told and slid his foot closer. "Good. Now I want you to centre your balance between both legs. You can't have all your weight shifted on your left leg, so move your body forward a little." Naruto again complied, shifting his weight so that he was balanced, beginning to feel slightly more comfortable. The Yondaime continued making corrections until Naruto had his fighting stance corrected to the Yondaime's own.

"Alright, the Uindo Saafin-ryu (Wind surfing style) primarily focuses on speed and fluidity, so if your muscles are tense, it will only do you more harm then good. Understand?"

"Yeah, I can already tell you this is way less awkward then my previous style." Naruto commented, smiling at the easily felt difference. Before he had felt awkward, uncomfortable, and messy, but now he felt aware, and balanced. It truly made a difference, and now Naruto was really excited at learning the Yondaime's style, knowing that the fighting stance already had made such a phenomenal difference.

The Yondaime nodded, "I have no doubt in my mind that there is a major difference, considering what it used to be. Now I going to run you through less then half of the basic katas of the style, and I doubt you'll be able to memorize all of them today, but that will come in time."

Naruto nodded eagerly, "I'll get this down in no time!" he proclaimed. Minato smiled at his son, knowing that he had inherited the same determination as himself.

The Yondaime got an idea, "Hey Naruto, I bet Sasuke would learn these basic katas in two weeks, I mean, he is an Uchiha…"

Naruto exploded loudly, "WHAT! I'll have them done in a week and a half then! That's a promise! I never go back on my word that is my nindo!"

Minato fought the urge to snicker, Naruto's and Sasuke's rivalry was a lot like Obito's and Kakashi's from what he had observed thus far. Naruto was exuberant, loud, and brash, just like Obito. While Kakashi was a lot like Sasuke, competitive, arrogant, confident, and a genius shinobi. Now that Minato thought about it, the similarities were a bit nerve racking.

Minato turned his focus towards Naruto, who was now cracking his knuckles while displaying a large foxy grin, similar to his own, "Let's get started."

* * *

(October 14th, Thursday) 

To Minato's surprise, Naruto was actually a quick learner like himself. Naruto had half of the basic katas of his style memorized in three days, but then again, Naruto could train a lot longer then the average person. Naruto's stamina, to say the least, was beyond comprehendible. Naruto was able to go past the limits of an average shinobi by three hours. This is without resting of course, and Minato had to guess it was a side effect of having the Kyuubi sealed inside him.

Naruto had gone shopping and had bought weights with the cash he had saved up. The man at the weapon store was quite kind to Naruto, and to say Minato was pleased, was to say the least. The weights Naruto had bought were a new edition, and highly expensive. The weights were small enough to conceal, and did not require one to insert weight into them. Instead each of the weights had a black seal on them that allowed the user to adjust the weight. There were four weights in total, two for each wrist, and two more for each ankle. The nice thing about the seals was that they weren't restricted to just one part or limb on the body. The seals were interconnected, so if you were to adjust the weight of one, they would all change. The seal made it so that the entire body was affected, as though one was changing the gravity around the person wearing them. This made it so that balance was not as much of an issue. The problem with the weights however, was that they started at the set weight of 30 pounds (13.6 kg) each, a weight that was simply too much for Naruto to start off with. So in order to compensate for this problem, Minato came up with an idea that he would put into play during Saturday's training session.

Naruto had also just bought some new clothes today to satisfy his part of the deal. The clothes were simple enough, his pants black in color with many pockets for storing items. The pants ended a little above his ankle, where white wrapping were then worn. Naruto also had gotten new black shinobi sandals since his blue ones were beginning to get too small. His top was a black turtleneck sweater, with an orange spiral on his right shoulder. He also wore a cloak similar to Minato's, but instead there was no kanji on the back. The cloak was also a crimson red in color, with white flames licking the bottom edges.

Choosing the clothing, although difficult, was nothing compared to actually getting them. Naruto had tried two stores, and had been unceremoniously thrown out by both. It was a minor setback, to which Naruto and Minato eventually solved.

Flashback

"Why don't you try a henge to fool them into thinking you're an average civilian?" Minato suggested.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, while laughing nervously. "Um, my henge isn't exactly the greatest…"

The Yondaime cocked an eyebrow, "Is that so? It can't be as bad as mine was back in the academy."

Naruto looked away embarrassingly, his cocky attitude completely nonexistent. "I'm not so sure…" he trailed off.

Minato looked around the busy market street curiously, "Ah, there! Try henging into that guy." The Yondaime ordered, pointing to the said man. The man was a simple civilian, busily looking through the display window of a nearby furniture store.

Naruto looked slightly unconfident, but nonetheless put his hands into the required seal and gathered chakra.

"Alright here it goes! Henge no Jutsu!" Naruto called, followed shortly after by a puff of smoke.

The smoke slowly cleared and Minato's eye twitched as he looked at the form Naruto has taken.

He was at a loss of words.

"It's not very good is it?" Naruto questioned, right before he dismissed his chakra and returned to his original appearance.

Minato shook his head, and rubbed his temples frustratingly, 'I can't even describe how terrible that henge was. Note to self, work on Naruto's basic ninjutsus A-SAP!'

Naruto sighed, "I might have another idea…"

Minato picked up his head in interest, "Really? And what might that be?"

Naruto looked back at Minato, a suspicious glint in his eyes. Whatever it was, it was unsettling Minato quite a bit. "Naruto, what are you up to?" Minato questioned warily, as a foxy grin spread across Naruto's face.

Naruto put his hands into a seal, the large grin stretching further on his face.

"Oiroke no Jutsu!" Naruto was then obscured by a puff of smoke, while the Yondaime watched curiously with baited breath. The wind picked up and pushed the cloud of smoke away, revealing a nude girl with nothing covering her but fluffy white clouds. Her long hair was up in two blonde pigtails, her eyes a majestic cerulean.

"Hi, Minato-san." She drawled sexily.

The Yondaime's jaw dropped, his eyes wide and unblinking. He then quickly shut his mouth and looked away from the girl, an embarrassing red blush stretched across his face.

"Naruto, could you drop the jutsu now?" Minato asked, still refusing to look at the nude girl in front of him.

"Awwww, do you really want me to leave Minato-san?" The Naruto-girl asked, moving closer to Minato. The action caused Minato to deepen his blush to one that rivaled Hinata's at her worst.

"Hai, now Naruto." The Yondaime ordered. The girl pouted, and then transformed back into Naruto.

"You're not very fun." Naruto huffed disappointingly. He was wondering if the Yondaime was a pervert, if he was, then he would have something against him.

"Naruto," The Yondaime began, turning his head to face the blonde mischief. "I want you to never, ever, use that jutsu again, unless I give you permission, understand?"

Naruto looked at him oddly, "Why? I was just joking around."

Minato shook his head, "Naruto that jutsu may bring out the worst in men, but it has even worse effects on women."

Naruto still didn't understand, "What do you mean by that?"

Minato sighed, brushing a hand through his golden locks. "Naruto, are you that dense that you never take notice of your surroundings?"

Naruto raised an inquisitive eyebrow, before looking around, shivering as he did so. There were a lot of women menacingly glaring at him, much worse then the usual. There were also some women beating up their boyfriends or husbands that were trying to hide their nosebleeds. The women were scary, and Naruto could have sworn he heard one of them crack their knuckles.

Naruto did the only logical thing…run. Naruto hastily dashed around a corner and into an alley, hiding within its murky depths.

Minato looked at the blonde seriously, "Naruto, like I said, I forbid the use of that jutsu without my permission. You've seen the results, you're just lucky none of those women were kunoichi."

Naruto nodded eagerly in agreement, "Yeah, women are sure scary."

Minato nodded as well, 'Women? He should have seen how Kushina acted towards perverts. Not a very pleasant sight.' "You have no idea."

Naruto couldn't help a small smile from gracing his features. The words 'forbid' and 'permission', were words he didn't here to often. It was also the way Minato had said it, it reminded Naruto of how parents scold their children. He didn't know why, but he couldn't help but feel happy about being forbidden to do something.

A thought then occurred to Minato, "Hey Naruto."

"Yeah?"

Minato scratched his head as if trying to remember something. "Didn't you say something about an idea on how to go into the stores without being kicked out?"

Naruto tapped his foot in thought, and then the answer dawned upon him. "Oh yeah! I was just going to do the Oiroke no jutsu, but with clothes!" He exclaimed happily, forming the hand sign. He stopped just before using the chakra required to perform the said technique. He turned to the Yondaime sheepishly, "Um, it's okay right?"

Minato smiled, "Hai, you don't need my permission as long as your…uh…form, is properly clothed."

Naruto nodded and performed the jutsu perfectly, while Minato looked at Naruto curiously. He wondered why Naruto could do this jutsu perfectly, yet not the Henge no jutsu.

Naruto used his jutsu to go into shops and was greeted and served very kindly. From that point on Naruto decided to shop in his Oiroke no jutsu form.

End Flashback

After that, Minato had thought about the fact that Naruto couldn't do a proper henge, but could do the Oiroke no jutsu perfectly. He then theorized that maybe the Oiroke no jutsu actually turned Naruto into a girl completely. As disturbing as he found this, it would also explain the fact he could perform it so easily. It would require more chakra, thus less control. The Henge no jutsu would require less chakra, and more control. In conclusion, Naruto needed to work on chakra control.

* * *

It was has been four nights since Minato had begun training Naruto, and now it was the fifth morning.

* * *

(October 15th, Friday; 6:15AM) 

Naruto woke up once again to his buzzing alarm clock. He twisted and turned on his mattress in attempt to have a few more minutes of sleep. However, the light from his window shined onto his eyelids and he groaned in irritation. He hit the alarm and sat up on his bed. He rubbed his eyes in futility, as he tried to adjust his eyesight to the morning light. His blankets were wrapped around his legs, so when he got out of bed he had fallen onto the hard wood floor.

He lay sprawled on the floor for a while, trying to recount what had happened to lead him into this position. Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by the bellowing laughter of his ghostly friend.

Minato's laughter died down before he spoke in mocking tone, "Not a morning person eh?"

Naruto let out a groan in reply, his face still pressed against the cold floor.

Minato chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes. I wasn't too much of a morning person myself, until I was promoted to jounin that is. It is important for a shinobi to wake up in a seconds notice and be fully awake, or else you might get yourself killed."

Naruto waved a hand, and got back onto his feet. He got ready silently, still in attempt to wake up. After twenty minutes he began to reclaim the energetic bounce in his step. As he got dressed, he had reached for his orange jumpsuit initially, but then remembered the clothes he bought yesterday and grabbed those instead.

He put on the black sweater and pants, before throwing on his cloak to finish. He was about to reach for his goggles, but Minato stopped him.

"Naruto, that doesn't exactly match your new look." Minato stated, waving a hand.

Naruto looked at his goggles and then Minato, "But, you never said anything about my goggles! And Oji-san gave me these for my seventh birthday!" Naruto exclaimed, as he pointed towards the goggles that sat on top of his dresser.

Minato had to think for a sec on how to convince his son not to wear his goggles. An idea hit him and he grinned. "Naruto, don't you want Sakura to notice you?"

Naruto stopped instantly, "What does this have to do with Sakura-chan?"

Minato smirked, "Well it just so happens I know how to get Sakura to notice you, so you have to follow my advice."

Naruto scrunched up his face in thought before replying, "But, how do you know what Sakura-chan likes?"

Minato smiled, "Well it just so happens that when I was alive, I had a large fan-club that would put Sasuke's to shame."

Minato did have a very large fan club, but he didn't have too many problems with them since he could escape from them whenever he had to by using Shunshin no Jutsu. Though he saw less and less fan-girls after he started dating Kushina…he wondered why.

Naruto's eyes widened, "No way!"

Minato smirked as he watched his son's obvious amazement, "Yes way."

Naruto set down his goggles on his dresser, "Alright, I guess I'll try your advice." Minato couldn't help but snicker when Naruto's back was turned, 'Heh, later he'll be asking me how to get rid of them.'

With that Naruto finished getting ready and left towards the academy, Minato following him the entire way.

* * *

(October 15th, Friday; 6:50AM; The Academy) 

Sasuke sighed as he felt his fan club sitting above him, breathing down his neck predatorily. He shivered, wondering why they just wouldn't leave him alone. Couldn't they clearly see that he wasn't interested? If not, then they were even denser then Naruto. He inwardly groaned as he mumbled, "stupid fan-girls," under his breath.

Shikamaru slept at his desk soundly, a small trail of drool made its way from his mouth. Even when class hasn't started, he still wanted to sleep.

The rest of the class were gossiping and talking between each other. Well, Sakura and Ino were more like screeching at each other, but that's beside the point.

Just seven minutes before the bell rang, and the door to the classroom was loudly flung open. Everyone gasped as the figure entered the classroom, most then began the procedure of rubbing their eyes until they were partially blind.

There stood Naruto, blond hair and deep cerulean eyes. But that wasn't what everyone found so unbelievable. It was the fact he wasn't wearing orange!

Minato watched Naruto enter the classroom, gaining many dumbfounded expressions in response. Minato knew that Naruto's clothes were still flashy, but it was flashy in a good way. In other words, his type of flashy.

"Naruto is that you?" Kiba questioned, looking at his classmate incredulously.

Naruto grinned mockingly, "Duh it's me! Who'd you think I was dog breath?"

Kiba growled, but then gave a smug smirk, "It's alright everyone! He's still clearly the dead-last!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke looked at the blonde in irritation, "It means you're still an idiot, dobe." His fan-club agreed with him, then began complimenting the great Uchiha once more.

Minato thought it was about time he gave Naruto some advice on how to handle an Uchiha.

"Ignore him."

Naruto gave him a look that clearly meant, 'Nani?'

Naruto has been learning over the past week how to communicate with Minato more silently, using body language instead of words.

"You see, people such as Sasuke, are used to attention, so if you ignore him, it will defiantly make him mad."

Naruto nodded at the advice, and walked to a seat in the back next to Shino.

Sasuke watched Naruto walk away from him, not snapping back at his insult like usual. 'What's wrong with the dobe?' he wondered. Sasuke knew something was happening to Naruto, but he didn't know what. He shrugged his thoughts away, 'It's just the dobe, why would I care?'

Class proceeded as usual, with Naruto trying hard to pay attention to the lectures. However Naruto found that it was still difficult, taking in only half the information. 'Old habits die hard' was the saying, and Naruto couldn't agree more. With each class, though Naruto began to slowly improve on paying attention, and concentrating. Minato knew that this would also pay off in the future, so he emphasized the point that Naruto should pay attention in class no matter how boring.

Minato had also told Naruto that underestimating an opponent could be deadly, that's why he should continue to get the grades he has been getting. Deceit was a common tool amongst shinobi, and if used correctly, could be the greatest weapon. Though keeping his low grades wasn't all too difficult, because every worksheet he was given was always harder then everyone else's. This was of course due to a certain silver-haired chunin. His jutsu performances were the same, since he hadn't worked on them yet with Minato, but that would come in time.

Another reason why Minato wanted Naruto to do worse is because he knew how the genin teams were organized. Since the dead-last always went with the rookie of the year, then Sasuke and Naruto were surely going to be on the same genin team. He wasn't going to tell Naruto this fact of course, but he thought that maybe the rivalry between them would be a good thing for the both of them. It seemed that a rivalry such as theirs would only push both of them past their limits, just like Obito and Kakashi; always trying to outdo the other.

Class ended as usual, and Naruto trained with Minato until night fell. Tomorrow was a new day, and Naruto seemed to want only to dedicate it to training, something that Minato didn't mind at all, seeing as it was more time to spend with his son.

* * *

(October 16th, Saturday; 8:00AM; Training Field 29) 

Minato smiled proudly at Naruto, as he went through half of the basic katas without pausing. He asked Naruto to perform the katas he knew and he performed all the ones Minato had taught him so far, flawlessly.

"Well done," he complimented Naruto. "But your speed could always be improved."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah…so, are you going to teach me more of the katas today?"

"Yes, but I also want to start improving your speed."

"I left the weights at home though…"

"You won't need those just yet."

"Eh?" Naruto questioned confusingly, scratching the back of his head. He thought that was the whole point of buying those things. So what would he do until he could use them?

Minato began walking away, and Naruto knew he wanted him to follow. The blond Hokage kept walking, before stopping beside a large pond in the training field. Minato folded his arms in front of his chest as he stood in front of the water.

"Alright Naruto, in order to improve your speed you need your body to acclimatize to profound pressure or weight, that way your muscles will adapt to the strain." Minato explained.

"Uh, wouldn't weight make me slower?" Naruto questioned curiously, scratching the top of his nose with his finger. He didn't understand. How does adding weight increase your speed?

Minato shook his head sadly. This was going to be more difficult then he originally thought. 'Note to self. Work on Naruto's intelligence.'

"Naruto, tell me, what would happen if you took off all the weight?"

"Um…" Naruto began to form an image in his mind. He pictured himself with a large boulder on his back, and then without it…

"Oh! I got it! It increases my strength so I can move faster!"

Minato smiled, "Exactly."

"So why couldn't you have just said that instead of using all those big words?" Naruto pouted angrily.

Minato didn't want to answer Naruto's question, so he pretended to not hear him. He forgot that after becoming Hokage, he somewhat became accustomed to large words. The council said he should expand his vocabulary. Otherwise he would be utterly lost in diplomatic meetings. Ever since their suggestion, Kushina had forcibly thrust a dictionary in front of his face.

Reading the dictionary…defiantly not one of his fondest memories.

"Alright Naruto, I want you to go about two meters under the water here and do one hundred left punches, a hundred right punches, another hundred left kicks, and finally one hundred right kicks." Minato ordered, pointing at the lake with authority.

Naruto's jaw dropped disbelievingly, "Nani?"

Minato shook his head, "You heard me. It's not that difficult…"

"No, not that! How the hell am I supposed to stay under that long!?!?" Naruto cried out, flailing his arms up and down incredulously.

"Oh that…"Minato mused. He had to admit he did forget that Naruto didn't know how to use chakra to enforce his reserved oxygen. "Well, it's really simple actually. All you have to do is concentrate chakra to your lungs. This doesn't require much chakra control, so you should be able to grasp the concept quite quickly. Just note that the more chakra you send to your lungs the longer you will be able to stay under water, understand?"

"Hai!" Naruto replied, forming the ram symbol quickly. Naruto closed his eyes to concentrate, lowering himself closer to the earth, and pulling as much chakra as he could. Minato watched with widened eyes how much chakra Naruto was forming. There was no sign of the fox's chakra either!

"Naruto stop!" Minato commanded, Naruto stopped instantly, the chakra disappeared in seconds.

"What's wrong?" Naruto questioned curiously, he thought he was doing it right.

"Naruto, if you put all of your chakra into this, then you'll surely tempt chakra exhaustion." The Yondaime scolded.

"Chakra exhaustion?" Naruto wondered, "Couldn't you die from that or something?"

Minato nodded, "In some situations, yes, but I highly doubt chakra exhaustion is really too much of a threat to you…"

"Huh? Why is that?"

Minato calmly walked towards Naruto stopping right in front of him. He knelled down slightly and pointed at Naruto's stomach, smiling serenely.

"The fox?" Naruto questioned.

Minato nodded his head in reply, while crossing his arms on top of his knees and leaning on them. "Hai, Naruto. Since you never run into problems with chakra exhaustion, you use your chakra carelessly. Once you run out of chakra the Kyuubi's chakra substitutes for yours, so that chakra exhaustion is no longer a problem."

Naruto nodded sadly, understanding that Minato was trying to point out the fact that he was relying on the fox's power and not his own.

"So," Naruto began, "I have to try and use less chakra?"

Minato nodded and stood up, while Naruto pumped his fist into the air. "Alright, I'll do it this time for sure! This will be a piece of cake!" Naruto cheered, forming a ram seal with a large grin on his face.

Naruto's grin soon vanished as he began to concentrate, shutting his eyes in the process. His chakra began to rise around his body until it was compressed into his lungs. After two minutes, the chakra around his lungs finally disappeared.

Naruto opened his eyes and blinked. Wondering if it worked, he prepared to question Minato, but stopped when he realized he wasn't breathing. Naruto opened his mouth and took in a breath, wondering if he did the jutsu wrong. Nope, he could breath, he just didn't have to.

Naruto gave a full-blown grin after realizing his achievement. "Yatta!" He shouted, jumping in joy.

Minato smiled proudly, "I wasn't expecting you to get it so fast. But now you should go into the water and get started on the task I have set for you before it wears off. Judging by how much chakra you put into the technique, I'd say you have roughly an hour before you need to come up for air and compress your lungs again. Now get going."

It was true, he was expecting Naruto to get it on his third or fourth try, considering how bad his chakra control is, but he was glad to be proven wrong. Oxygen reserving did not nearly require as much chakra control as tree walking for instance, but it did require some type of control.

"Yes sir," Naruto mock saluted with a playful grin, before diving into the water and beginning the exercise.

Naruto was about to begin the one hundred punches on his left when he noticed a familiar presence behind him. Minato grinned knowing what Naruto was thinking, "Naruto, remember water doesn't affect me in the least. I just wanted to make sure you don't start slacking off."

Naruto made a face that showed he was probably growling, but it couldn't be heard in the water. The blond child then began his left punches, noticing that his blows were indeed much slower and sluggish in the water. It also took more energy now that he had to fight against the water's resistance. Naruto continued on regardless, training relentlessly until his task was finished.

After the exercise, Minato then taught another fourth of the basic katas of his style to Naruto. Naruto obviously picked them up quickly, but was only able to memorize half of them, which was still an awesome feat. Minato soon learned that even though Naruto had the loud boisterous attitude of his wife, he also had his sheer determination, as well as his uncanny ability to learn extremely fast.

Minato smiled, thinking that training Naruto was actually going to be easier then training any other.

* * *

(October 16th, Saturday; 11:00PM) 

Naruto opened the door to his apartment, and shut it behind him. Minato walked through the door, entering the room with a warm smile.

"Alright Naruto, I want you to eat and then get to bed. Tomorrow's a new day, and I want to start your training as soon as possible. Rest is important to any shinobi, without it you would be like a blunt kunai. Not useless, but not as useful as it could be." Minato lectured, to which Naruto groaned.

"I got it. You don't have to tell me."

Minato smiled, watching as Naruto ate and then prepared for bed. Naruto walked tiredly to the edge of his bed, letting out a loud yawn before falling on top of it. He brought the covers over himself and brought his knees closer to his body for warmth.

"Hey Naruto," Minato began.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked, his back still facing the Yondaime.

"I'm proud of you."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. The Yondaime's words echoed through his mind over and over again. I'm proud of you. Those words, none have ever said to him, not even the Sandaime. Those words were special when they were said by the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, but even more so by Minato. He didn't know why, but when Minato had spoken those words, it made him feel as though he had…family. He let those words replay through his mind, comforting him into peaceful slumber.

Once Naruto fell sound asleep, Minato watched him closely. Watching as Naruto's breaths made his chest rise and fall in a steady motion.

"I'm proud of you…my son."


	5. Training Continues and Heritage Revealed

CrimsonCat101: Heh, sorry it took me awhile, but it is a good length. I cried when I saw how many reviews the last chapter got, and I'm very happy about it. If I get a good response from this chapter I'll update this story before my others.

Also I have a poll on pairings, that MAY influence the pairing for this story IF I do one. By the way, it will not be NaruxHina, but you can still vote for it if it makes you feel better. FemxHaku added.

Revised: 12/7/07 Due to needed explanations.

Revised: 12/15/07 Changed Kushina's hair length and Explanation 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

Ghost Guardian

-Training Continues and Heritage Revealed-

For the past few days Naruto worked diligently on his training. Naruto paid attention in class as well as took notes. Yeah, you know it's the end of the world when Naruto starts taking reasonable notes. Of course that might have been because he was pressured to do so with Minato hovering over his shoulder. His friends noticed his changes in behavior, especially Shikamaru, Chouj, and Kiba, because he refused to skip class anymore. His pranks also decreased, to which Iruka started to become worried about. After school he usually ate, most times ramen, but sometimes he was forced to eat something else like vegetables. Naruto could've sworn that Minato was enjoying his pain when he was eating healthy foods…

Over the course of the week, Minato had split up his training so that he could work on many things instead of focusing on just one. Minato had made him do tree climbing, a chakra control exercise that consisted of one climbing a tree using only their feet. It took Naruto just two days to get it down with the help and encouragement of Minato, of course those two days weren't exactly full days either. Naruto also worked on the Henge and Kawarimi no jutsu, as well as attempted the Bunshin. Naruto could now do both the Henge and Kawarimi, however, the Bunshin was still something he was unable to do. In order to compensate for this problem, Minato had taught Naruto the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Kage Bunshin is a kinjutsu that instead of creating illusionary doppelgangers created solid ones, capable of using chakra. Naruto had gotten the jutsu down in a few hours, though Minato had explained it was partly due to his overly large chakra reserves. Naruto also had worked out underwater and above water, to make sure that his timing and balance were still correct. Working out had only slightly increased his strength and speed, but not enough yet to make a large difference. Since memorizing the basic katas of the Uindo Saafin-ryu (Wind Surfing Style), Naruto had gone through each slowly, so that he would be able to get through each kata with less thought and effort as well as build stamina, and strengthen his muscles.

For the rest of the month and throughout the next, Naruto was dedicated solely to his training. His knowledge continued to grow as he paid attention in class. His own chakra reserves continued to rise steadily over the course of his training. His speed, stamina, and fluidity increased as well, to the point where he could now fight his classmates in an average spar. Sasuke along with some others could still pulverize him, but he didn't let that bother him. He still continued switching between working out underwater and above. Naruto practiced the tree climbing exercise in order to make sure his chakra control didn't worsen, as well as increase his own chakra reserves. Minato also made Naruto practice the Henge and Kawarimi no justu until he could do them both effectively. Naruto also practiced stealth training, as well as basic target practice.

The month after that Minato had come to the decision to finally tell Naruto about his heritage, despite his own anxiety and fear.

* * *

(December 1st, Wednesday; 7:07PM; Training Field 29) 

Naruto grinned as he watched all five of the shuriken he had thrown hit their intended mark.

Minato nodded approvingly, "Five bulls-eye simultaneously, I'd say that you're improving. Even though I think that it took you too long to aim, it is defiantly better then the first time you tried."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly at the mention of his first try about a month and a half ago. That time all three of the shuriken he had thrown had missed the target altogether and had each passed through Minato harmlessly. Minato had hung that over his head for the rest of the week. Though Naruto had to admit it was pretty hilarious, they both had laughed about it afterwards.

Minato smiled, "Alright, go retrieve your shuriken and we'll start working on kunai."

Naruto did as ordered and pulled the five shuriken from the target board. Naruto then put the five into his shuriken holster located on his right leg. Walking back over to where the Yondaime stood, Naruto drew two kunai from both kunai holsters on each leg.

"Remember don't make this harder then it is. Use the least amount of movement necessary," the Yondaime lectured.

Naruto groaned, "I know."

Minato chuckled, "Sure you do."

Naruto ignored him and focused on the target. The blond raised his arm slightly before flicking it in a brief rapid motion. The kunai sped towards its intended mark, or at least it seemed that way. Instead it missed the board entirely and hit a nearby tree.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the kunai, '_Stupid kunai, can't you just go where I want you to!'_

Minato chuckled, "Just try again, but this time, don't flick your wrist as much."

Naruto sighed, as he took his second kunai and repeated the same thing he did last, but instead took the Yondaime's advice and didn't put in as much effort to flick his wrist. This time the kunai imbedded itself within the outer rim of the target.

Naruto smiled at his achievement, before going over to retrieve his two kunai. Minato smiled at the improvement Naruto had made over the past few months. At first Naruto had complained quite a bit, but over time Naruto began to look forward to training. Naruto also learned things Minato had thrown him fairly fast.

Naruto ran back to Minato and practiced throwing his kunai over and over again. Naruto's accuracy improving bit by bit, until he could hit the third out of five rings on average. After about forty five minutes of kunai target practice, Minato told him it was time to head back and that training was over for the day.

Naruto made sure that he had all of his equipment, before following after the Yondaime.

"I think tonight for dinner you should have maybe some broccoli or carrot," Minato mused with a sinister smile. Naruto stuck his tongue out and gagged in disgust, which Minato laughed at. "Oh come on, I'd guess by now you'd get used to them."

Naruto frowned, "And you have?"

The Yondaime rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Um, no. But I was forced to eat them anyway."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "Who could force you to do that?"

"My wife," Minato spoke in a dead flat tone.

Naruto laughed at the Yondaime's expense, "How did she do that?" Naruto asked.

Minato smirked knowingly, "Trust me, women have their ways. My wife was the forceful type, unfortunately."

Naruto snickered before stopping after a short moment, "Uh, who was your wife?"

The Yondaime sighed, "I'll tell you when we get to your apartment." Naruto looked at the blond man curiously, but shrugged it off soon after.

"So Naruto what do you think about that pink-haired classmate of yours?" Minato asked, changing the subject rather easily.

Naruto blushed, "I like her, and I think she's really pretty."

The Yondaime grimaced, "Even though she treats you like trash?"

Naruto frowned and looked at the floor depressingly, "Well…still …"

Minato shook his head sadly, "I think the only time she would see you, would be if the Uchiha didn't exist. Or…"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "Or?"

Minato scratched the top of his head, "Or, she by some miracle got over her blind sighted crush, which I somewhat doubt."

Naruto dropped his head sadly, "Should have figured."

The Yondaime gave a comforting smile, "Well there is a girl in your class that actually has a crush on you."

Naruto picked his head up in surprise, "Really!? Who?"

Minato smirked, "The one that blushes when you're near, and faints when you get to close."

Naruto blinked, "Hinata? I thought that she was sick or something, doesn't she do that around everyone?"

Minato shook his head, "No, so what do you think about her."

Naruto scrunched his eyebrows in thought, "Well, she's always been nice to me, but she's kind of creepy. Then there is the fact you can barely hear her when she talks, I don't know…I see her maybe as a possible friend, not a girlfriend."

Minato nodded in understanding, as they entered Naruto's apartment. They walked up the stairs and down the hallway. Naruto pulled out his set of keys, and then inserted a small brass one. Naruto turned it, and attempted to open the door. When the door remained closed, Naruto tried to pull his key out of the lock. To the blonde's unfortunate luck the key snapped audibly. Naruto brought the broken key up to his face for closer inspection and scowled.

Minato watched the events amusingly.

"That's it!" Naruto cried kicking the door open forcefully. The door swung open with a resounding bang. Naruto stepped in and looked at the door, _'Great Izumi-san will kill me…well there goes some of my savings…'_

Minato walked in and Naruto shut the door behind him. Naruto walked towards Minato, but stopped at the creek of the door opening. Naruto groaned and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. He was about to step away, when the door opened once more. Naruto growled and held it shut.

"I think it's broken, "Minato commented.

Naruto turned away from the door to face the Yondaime, "Thank you captain obvious!" he snarled sarcastically.

Minato smiled cheerfully, "No problem."

Naruto slapped his forehead and sighed. Looking around Naruto grabbed the chair by his table and placed it near the door. "That'll have to do for now I guess."

Naruto went through the cupboards, and grabbed the container of the food he loved so much. Naruto was about to prepare the instant ramen when Minato stopped him, "Naruto, I told you no ramen tonight."

Naruto turned to face him, "But whyyyyy!" he whined.

Minato raised a finger, "I let you have ramen for lunch today, and that was plenty enough."

Naruto continued to pout, and when that didn't work, he changed his strategy.

Minato looked at the teary expression and caved in, "Fine, just as long as you have a vegetable and fruit with it, alright?"

Naruto cheered and began to prepare dinner enthusiastically. After a few minutes Naruto walked over to the table and set his bowl and plate down. He then went to replace the chair against the door with the wastebasket. Naruto began to eat, while Minato seemed to watch him with a scrutinizing gaze.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence Naruto spoke, "Uh, what's wrong?" Minato's eyes flicked back to the life from the dull blue they had become.

"Nothing," the Yondaime replied a little too quickly.

"Thinking again Driftwood?" Naruto asked with a grin.

The Yondaime nodded his head with a small smile, "Right on the money."

Naruto curiously questioned him, "So, uh, what were you thinking about?"

"Nothing important," Minato replied simply, but still seemed to be somewhat conflicted.

Naruto studied Minato for a second, but resumed eating with a shrug. Naruto knew there was something bothering the blond man. He could tell without even looking at the Yondaime that the man was strongly conflicted, as well as worried, and guilty. Naruto didn't know how he could see and feel the Yondaime's emotions, but he wondered if it was because he had been spending so much time with Minato, or the fact that he considered Minato to be like the family he never had.

Family.

A word never felt so foreign to him, but it was the idea that Naruto wished for the most. A mother to watch over him, to scold him, and to comfort him in his darkest moments. A father to support him, to teach him, and to care for him. But Naruto knew better then to hope for such things, even though it was what he desired most.

Once he finished eating, Naruto began to clean, Minato strangely silent the whole time. Naruto finished, the silent atmosphere making him very uncomfortable. With his eyes narrowed, Naruto finally snapped, "What's bothering you so much!"

Surprised, Minato brought his gaze up to meet Naruto's, "W-what?" he stuttered.

Naruto recoiled back after noticing his actions, "Ah, sorry. I just…I don't know…" Naruto wondered why he snapped like that. Was it because he didn't like secrets being kept from him, or was it because he didn't like to see the Yondaime bothered so much he wasn't sure.

Minato shook his head, "No need to apologize. I kind of have to get this off my shoulders anyway…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow curiously, wondering what it was that was making Minato so worried and indecisive. For the Yondaime to be so troubled he knew it had to be something big.

Minato ran a hand through his blond locks and gave a depressed sigh. "Well, I've been kind of hiding something from you for awhile. I know you have the right to know this though."

Naruto sat down next to the blond man on the couch, his cerulean eyes consumed with questions and curiosity. "The right to know what?"

"Your heritage," the Yondaime spoke, his eyes scanning the younger blond for a reaction.

Naruto froze in shock. How can one not be stupefied by the prospect of knowing one's origin? Naruto had wanted to know his entire life who his parents were, wondering if they abandoned him, hated him, and feared him like the rest of the civilian populace, or they died loving him, or were even still alive. Naruto had asked the Sandaime many times who his parents were, and the subject always seemed to change or something happened to distract Naruto. Now that the Yondaime was going to reveal who his family is or was, he couldn't help but be apprehensive and scared at the same time. He couldn't stand the idea that his parents abandoned him, or hated him, but at the same time he just wanted to know who they were.

Naruto also felt somewhat angered by the fact that the Yondaime was just _now _telling him. He wondered why the blond Hokage didn't tell him before. Why would the Yondaime hide something that wasn't relevant to himself? The thought made Naruto wonder if Minato knew his parents personally, or he had a reason to hide the information from him.

"On the day of the Kyuubi attack, your mother was stressed beyond belief. That stress caused her to go into labor. She was then brought to the hospital, while I tried to stop the Kyuubi without sacrificing myself. After a few hours our numbers decreased by half, slaughtered and killed by the Kyuubi no Kitsune. I was tired myself, my reserves pushed past my limit. A chunin approached me amidst the fight and told me that your mother had given birth. I watched the battlefield, broken and weary, before making the choice to give up my life. I then used the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Tecnique) to get to your mother, having given her one of my kunai to protect her. I was there beside her in a flash, literally, watching her hold you closely to her heart when I arrived."

So his mother did love him? Or did her opinion change later? What about his father? Naruto looked at the Yondaime intently, "What did she look like?"

The Yondaime gave a serene smile, his eyes becoming glazed as his mind flashbacked, "She was too fair for a ninja I can assure you. She was beautiful, with long red hair and defiant emerald eyes. She was average in height and her body was well endowed. Her complexion was always radiant, and she always had this cocky and stubborn attitude a lot like yours."

Naruto chuckled, "Did you have a crush on my mom?" he asked mischievously.

Minato smirked, "Maybe." _'You'll soon find out,'_ he thought to himself. Minato continued as though never interrupted, "She carried herself in with utmost confidence and loved wearing bright colors, namely _orange_," The Yondaime shuddered as Naruto grinned.

"See! Orange is the best!" Naruto spoke with a gleeful grin.

Minato shook his head, "Never. Well she did change her style after a while though. Thank Kami-sama she did."

Naruto huffed childishly, "I still say orange rules…"

Minato rolled his eyes, and continued the story, his mood shifting from carefree to depressive in the fraction of a second. "With many dieing at the same time I was with your mother, I was pressured to move quickly. Without me at the front line, more were dieing then before, so I was rushed, even though I wished for the moment to last longer…

* * *

(Minato's Flashback; October 10th; The Konoha Medical Center) 

Minato watched his wife hold Naruto tenderly, her bright red hair hovering over her child as she looked at him. Her motherly affection was displayed full force at the moment. Kushina moved her gaze from the baby in her arms and towards him.

"He's beautiful isn't he?" She asked with a joyful smile.

Minato smiled back, the guilt of what he was about to do replaced with the moment's feelings of bliss. "That he is. He'll be a fine young man when he gets older."

Kushina nodded and turned her sights back to Naruto, a large smile formed on her face.

"Well look at that," Kushina spoke in interest. Curious, Minato moved closer to see what she was referring to. Looking at Naruto, he noticed the slight tug at the corner of his mouth, a sure sign of the newborn trying to smile. "It appears he'll have a grin similar to yours, huh?"

Minato smiled, "Yeah, but it seems to me he inherited your positive outlook on life." Kushina smiled back at him, before turning her focus back towards the infant snuggled in her arms and wrapped in a baby blue blanket.

A shout was heard outside the closed hospital room door, breaking the once happy atmosphere. "He's dieing! Get him into the emergency room stat!"

A muffled shout replied back full of dread, "There is no more! They're all full! We're out of medics as well!"

Kushina hugged Naruto closer to her chest, "Oh Minato what do we do? Kyuubi is coming and…"

Minato placed a firm hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry I'm going to stop it."

Kushina's eyes flickered with hope, "How?"

Minato's gaze drooped, "I'm afraid it will require me to sacrifice myself."

Kushina gasped in horror, "You can't!"

Minato tightened the hold on his wife, "I must, for the village. It is my duty as Hokage to put the village's lives before mine. You know this," he spoke sadly.

Kushina nodded, "I do, but why did it have to happen now?"

Minato joked despite the situation, "Fate seems to hold a grudge against me, but I must do this."

Outside the window behind Kushina, a bright red ray of light appeared far off in the distance. As the light dimmed away, the sound of an explosion reached them as well as a few tremors. The explosion sounded like that of thunder on a stormy night, the low growls of the explosion soon died away. The vase fell off the desk beside Kushina, spilling the bright orange flowers and the water within it.

Minato tightened the hold on his three pronged kunai that was strapped to his leg. "Kushina, I need Naruto."

Kushina looked at him with obvious worry, "What do you mean?"

The Yondaime visibly winced, "Do you trust me?"

Kushina replied instantly, "Hai, with all my heart."

"Then trust me now with what I'm about to do. It is the only way to stop this."

Kushina's eyes flicked with a hint of doubt, but it soon disappeared. She handed over the small child and Minato took the baby with a great sense of gentleness.

Minato studied the infant cradled in his arm, before disappearing in a bright yellow flash. Leaving with two departing words, the words like a quiet whisper in the wind.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

(End Flashback) 

"…and you know what happens after that," the Yondaime finished.

Naruto sat stunned and slightly angry. Naruto knew Minato was stuck in a hopeless situation, _'but still…_' Naruto looked at Minato with mixed emotions, studying the blond man intensively. Naruto could tell that the man was grief stricken and guilty, but was hiding it considerably well.

Naruto sighed tiredly, "Please continue…I-…tell me more about my mother and…if possible my father as well."

Minato let out a breath he apparently was holding and continued, "Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina," he began, before he was interrupted by Naruto.

"Why do I have my mother's surname?" Naruto questioned curiously.

Minato waved him off, "I'll get to that soon. Anyway, your mother Kushina was originally from the country of Whirlpool. Her clan was a founding clan of her village. The Uzumaki to her village, were like the Uchiha to ours. Our war with Iwa (Rock) had slowly dragged Whirlpool country into the conflict. Iwa began using Whirlpool as a means for military bases, and even went as far to start claiming some of the territory as their own. Whirlpool country stood no chance against Iwa, watching as their land was used for Iwa's personal needs, they decided to seek help from Konoha. Whirlpool knew they stood no chance against one of the five great shinobi nations on their own. We then became allies and began to fight against Iwa together; however, an unseen large strike by Iwa left Whirlpool in ruins. Fulfilling our alliance we allowed the survivors to seek refuge within our borders," Minato looked at Naruto worryingly, "Are you getting this?"

Naruto had his eyebrows scrunched together in deep concentration, and his eyes closed thoughtfully. After a minute Naruto answered, "Kind of...So you're saying that my mother's country was destroyed in the war and then they were taken in by Konoha?"

Minato nodded pleased, "Hai, there were a few hundred survivors from the village, so we took them in. Most survivors were ninja fortunately, and they continued to aid us in the war. After the war ended the people of Whirlpool returned to their country and began to rebuild. Your mother however, stayed in Konoha and became a ninja here because she fell in love with your father."

Naruto stood up from the couch in front of Minato, his eyes widened considerably, "My father?" he spoke inquiringly, "Who was he?"

The Yondaime shook his head, "I'm getting to that. Your mother was a jounin, her experience in war paid off well in the end. Your father was well known around the world for his skills in combat, and the two loved each other more then you could ever guess. I can also safely say that they both loved you dearly as well. Because your father was well known in the shinobi world, it was clear that his enemies would come after you. Thus the reason you were given your mother's surname."

Naruto waited a full thirty seconds, before becoming impatient, "And my father? Who was he?"

Minato seemed to cringe, and the blond Hokage's anxiety appeared once more.

"Well?" Naruto asked, his agitation showing clearly.

Minato sighed, "Your father wants you to know that he loves you, and…that he hopes you will forgive him one day…" Minato's words were long and dragging, his voice becoming softer as he progressed.

Naruto was confused as to why Minato was telling him this, and what was there to forgive? He didn't have too much time to think as the Yondaime met his eyes with his own electric blue, "Your father's name is…Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, or otherwise…me."

Naruto's breath hitched, and his thoughts and emotions became overwhelming. _'He's my father? The Yondaime Hokage is my father? He sealed the demon in me, his own son?'

* * *

_

The Yondaime watched as Naruto's eyes flickered with different emotions. He could see confusion, anger, denial, sadness, happiness, and betrayal all within Naruto's cerulean orbs.

Minato had been nervous about this moment ever since he found out that Naruto was his son that day. He was scared, scared that Naruto would never accept him, or reject him even. But it was him that gave Naruto the hellish life he never deserved, Naruto's judgment, whatever it was, was fully justified.

Naruto's emotions and thoughts seemed to overwhelm his own mind to the point where the small blonde's system could only do one thing…

Shut down.

Minato watched as Naruto fainted on the spot, falling backwards towards the hard wooden floor. On impulse Minato jumped from his spot on the coach and tried to stop Naruto from continuing his collision course with the floor.

Of course after he had reacted he remembered that he was in fact a ghost, and couldn't stop Naruto.

Minato watched as Naruto slipped through his hands and collided with the hard floor.Minato shook his head, sighed and collapsed back onto the couch. Looking at Naruto's unconscious form, he couldn't help but stand back up and walk over to him. He looked at his son's form and smiled, _'Heh, he really does look like me…'_

Minato brought his hand over Naruto's face and snapped his fingers. No reaction came from the small blond, so Minato began calling his name. "Naruto. Naruto come on..." With no response the blond Hokage tried a different tactic, "NARUTO FREE RAMEN!"

Naruto remained still and Minato knew that he must've shocked Naruto pretty bad for him to be so unresponsive.

That's when the Yondaime felt the tug on his consciousness, small, but plainly noticeable. Minato concentrated on it, _'What is this feeling?'

* * *

_

(December 1st, Wednesday; 8:26PM; The Seal)

Darkness. Black. Nothingness. The emptiness soon began to fade, and became a swirl of mixed colors. The scene became clearer and sharper, the colors separated, and the blurriness disappeared.

Naruto blinked, his mind beginning to awaken. With his thought process and vision becoming comprehensive, he observed his surroundings. It was dank, that much was certain, and there seemed to be a menacing presence nearby that made him want to shudder. Sitting up, his back wet from the watery floor, he looked at the walls. The walls were lined with pipes, some thicker then others. Behind and in front of him was darkness, however, the direction in front of him had a faint eerie red glow.

'_Where am I? How did I get here?' _Naruto thought, but soon recounted what had happened before he had awakened in the strange place. _'Oh yeah…the Yondaime is my father huh? I looked at him like one…but he…he really is…'_

Naruto's thoughts were cut short by a bestial growl, deep and threatening. Naruto focused on the direction of which it came, not surprisingly from in front of him. Letting the curiosity get the better of him, he began to warily walk through the sewer like environment towards the direction of the sound. The red glow began to slowly brighten, the dampness becoming slightly worse as he continued.

After turning a few corners he had arrived in a large area, where thick metal bars loomed in front of him. The menacing aura seemed to increase, a heavy wave of terror and fear gripped Naruto's soul.

Naruto shook off his feelings and strode towards the cage. The blond came within a few feet of the closed off space when he noticed the small piece of paper attached to the center of one of the metal bars.

Naruto scrutinized the withered paper, "Seal?" he read aloud. The moment he had spoken, large scarlet eyes flashed open. Naruto jumped in surprise, taking a step back unconsciously.

The pair of crimson eyes gazed upon him with mild interest. **"It seems you have entered my domain, what is it that you wish of me?" **A deep animalistic voice spoke from within the barred cage.

Naruto stood stock still, his body not moving according to his will.

The voice snarled annoyingly, **"It appears you still do not realize where you are, so allow me to explain. You are within the seal, brought here by your own disarray and mental conflict.** **Here I have watched your life through the reflection of the water of which you stand.**"

Naruto stared at the dark figures malevolent eyes before it clicked, "K-Kyuubi?" he stuttered.

White teeth became apparent beneath the crimson red eyes. Naruto audibly shuddered; the mind-numbing, bloodthirsty grin from the blackened figure scared him.

The dark figure howled in laughter at his expression, **"It appears my reputation still lives on."**

Naruto stared at the figure, not knowing what to do, and then it clicked. The fox before him was responsible for all his pain and grief. The Kyuubi ruined his life, making it impossible for him to make friends or to live without fear. Without the fox before him, life would be so much better. He would have a living family, a village that looked at him without hate, and possibly friends. Unconsciously his fists tightened, and his cerulean eyes turned from fearful, to ones of cold fury.

"You," Naruto started out quietly, "You're the reason my life is a MESS! You made my life MISERABLE! YOU MONSTER!" he cried angrily, his eyes glaring furiously at the still grinning figure.

A paw stepped closer to the cage bars, revealing a blood red coat of fur. Another paw was revealed, and the Kyuubi's head moved into the light, a sinister grin still in place.

Naruto's anger was replaced with shock, as he stared at the large figure.

"**I'm touched. Your sentiments are nothing to me however. Why would I care about a small insignificant life form anyway hm? It is you they hate as well, not just I. You are as much as me as I am you. I felt your hate towards them, I know how much you wish to rip them apart and bathe in their blood. Are we so different in mind? No. You are a monster. I am a demon." **

Naruto backed away from the cage, "I'm not you! I'm nothing like you! Stop messing with my head you furball!"

Kyuubi continued, **"Oh but we are similar, you wish for power do you not? In terms of power we are nothing comparable, but in mind we are one in the same. I feel your rage, your anger, your fury, your hate, and your thirst for blood, especially when the Yondaime revealed himself to be your father. You think I couldn't hear your thoughts, or feel your emotions? You hate him for what he has done to you!"**

Naruto shook his head vigorously, "No stop! I-I don't I-"

"**Think! He took you from your mother! He sealed me in you! Hate him. Hate Konoha. You feel that emotion? That is anger. I can feel your thirst for blood. You are a monster!"**

Naruto grabbed his head, "Stop. I-I don't want to kill anyone!"

Kyuubi scowled, **"Your will is great, but you cannot resist the reality of it."**

Naruto took a few steps back, "No it's not true," his voice much smaller then before. His thoughts were a mess, and his feeling unrecognizable. He tried to sort out things, but he couldn't. Was the Kyuubi right? Was he really a monster? No, Minato had told him he was only the container, but still…a small sliver of doubt still existed.

Being so confused, Naruto didn't see a figure approach him. Before he knew it he was being hugged in a warm embrace, strong arms were wrapped tightly around his head where he was pulled towards the figure's stomach.

"Don't listen to him. You should know better then to think you are a monster. You are Naruto, the next Hokage, and my son."

Naruto relaxed in his father's hold, his mind slowing down to a point where he could think. He felt secure and safe in the Minato's hold, he never knew such warmth. His emotions came to the surface, and he hugged his father back tightly. Silent tears formed in his sky blue eyes, beginning to slide down his whisker-marked cheeks soundlessly.

Minato turned his head from him towards the fox, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "You would do well not to mess with my son."

Kyuubi grinned insanely, **"Just make sure he becomes strong enough to hold my reputation. His will is already powerful, more so then most; many would have broken a long time ago. However he could still be stronger, if he does become stronger in mind and body then I will not interfere." **With that said the kitsune retreated back into the depths of his cage, nine crimson tails following his wake.

Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes, and Minato released him. Naruto turned his gaze away from the blond man, "I'm sorry I believed him."

Minato blinked then shook his head, "It's okay, he got you when you were weakest. We'll just have to make it so it doesn't happen again okay?"

Naruto nodded, before realizing that he could touch the Yondaime, and then there was the fact he was here at all. "How?" Naruto questioned.

Minato looked at him curiously, before it clicked, "Oh! You wondering how I got here huh? Well I don't know the details, but when you fainted-"

Naruto shook his head in shame, "Ugh I fainted…it just doesn't sound like me…" Naruto looked at Minato, his eyes an icy cold, "You tell anyone I fainted, or cried I will kick your ass, got it?"

Minato poked him with each point, "One, watch your mouth. Two, don't ever threaten me. And three, does it look like I can?"

Naruto looked at him in shock, before dropping his head and having the decency to blush. "Um, gomen," he apologized.

Minato waved him off, "You're new to it so I'll give you a break, just remember not to do it again." Naruto nodded in reply and a comfortable silence fell between the two. After a while it became less comforting and more awkward.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "So ah, do you know what we were talking about again?"

"Not a clue," his father spoke in a dead flat tone. The Yondaime then remembered where they were, "Oh, right! I was telling you about how I got here."

"Oh yeah," Naruto nodded with recognition.

"Anyway you fainted and I began to feel…weird I guess. It was like a pull on my consciousness towards yours. Anyway, I think what happened is that because my soul is not contained properly within a body, and you and I have sort of a connection, I think it is safe to say my consciousness found its way to yours. Of course this is mainly a guess; honestly, I have no clue about it."

"Um, okay. How come you can touch me anyway?" Naruto questioned.

Minato closed his eyes in thought, "Well…I think it has something to do with us both being spiritual in a sense. We both don't have a body at a moment, so I guess things work differently here…"

Naruto shook his head, "Forget I asked, I already have too many headaches for one day. So how do I ah…return to my body?"

Minato blinked, "All you have to do is calm yourself. You came here because of unbalanced emotions, so in order leave you must do the opposite and calm your emotions."

Naruto nodded, "I think I get it." Naruto closed his eyes and slowed his breathing to the point where each breath was longer and deeper.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, the sight of his banged up apartment greeting him along with blissful silence. Naruto enjoyed the tranquility of the moment, the ease on his strained mind made him content…

Minato seemed to come out of nowhere, eliciting a small jump of shock from the smaller blond. "Yo," he chirped in an overly cheerful voice.

Recovering from his momentary shock Naruto cried out in his natural loud voice. "Gah! Would you cut that out!"

Minato smiled mockingly, "Who's the Driftwood now?" Naruto's eye twitched, no comeback seemed to come to mind.

Minato smiled victoriously, "That's what I thought."

Naruto growled and looked the other way childishly, his arms crossed in front of his chest in a typical pout. Naruto stayed that way until Minato spoke, his voice softer and far more depressing compared to how cheerful he just was.

"Naruto, what do you think of all this?"

Naruto knew what the Yondaime meant, his body tensing slightly at the topic. Naruto brought his eyes towards his father, before dropping them back towards the floor and to the right.

"I don't know. There's a lot to take in, and I…I think just need some time. I mean…"

Naruto stopped speaking when a comforting hand was placed on his shoulder. Naruto felt a strange sense of warmth pervade through his being. Not a feeling of touch, but one of presence. Naruto looked up from the floor and at Minato, whose face had broken into a warm smile. Minato spoke reassuringly, "Take as long as you need. I know this a lot to take in at once, and I must say I'm proud to see how well you have taken it thus far." (2)

Naruto gave his signature grin, but not the usual one he flashed to just about everyone, but a true honest one. "I came this far didn't I?" Minato's smile broke into a grin that was very similar to Naruto's own. "And don't forget I still need to surpass you old man."

Minato's grin shattered and his eye twitched audibly, "Don't. Call. Me. Old."

Naruto laughed loudly at the Yondaime's expense, "Looks like I found a weak spot!" he howled in laughter.

Minato's face had turned red by this point, "I'm only in my twenties I'm not old!"

Naruto laughed even louder, and Minato launched at him in a fit of rage, of course Naruto wouldn't just let him catch him that easily.

The chase began, with Naruto jumping over furniture and Minato following him close on his tail. Laughter filled the air of the once lonely apartment. After a minute of the chase, Naruto suddenly stopped and Minato continued right on through him. Minato stopped and turned towards his son, who stuck out his tongue playfully.

Minato chuckled, "Guess there is now way for me to win huh?"

Naruto grinned brightly, and Minato sighed after noticing how dark it was through the window. "Come on Naruto, it's time for bed."

Naruto pouted childishly, "Can't I stay up?"

Minato smirked, "Alright, but don't come complaining to me when you're too tired to train…" Minato heard the slam of Naruto's bedroom door, and chuckled.

"He is far too much like me…"

* * *

(1) Uindo Saafin-ryu (Wind Surfing Style) is not entirely correct, I know. I have no experience with the Japanese language as you can see, however this was a tougher translation and I'm not changing it. Uindo Saffin is English hidden in Japanese, and I'm now aware of this. I thank those that have pointed it out, but please I implore you, no more reviews on the matter. This has brought to my attention that I need a translator that is well rehearsed in Japanese grammer so that this does not happen again. The job is open at the moment, so please let me know if you want it. 

(2) I'm sorry that I didn't make this clear the first time so I went back and changed it. I'm human and I make mistakes, so I thank my reviewers for pointing that out for me. Like I said Minato _Can _touch things himself, but he cannot feel and neither can anyone feel him. Refer to making solid surfaces explanation in I Chapter three, either that or two. This does not mean one cannot feel him in a sense of _aura _or _presence_. What I mean by that is like a feeling of a sixth sense so to speak. For example, you know someone is behind you but you didn't see or hear him or her, you just know they are _there. _It's like that. As for the feelings of warmth, like I said presence and feeling.

(3) If you haven't noticed already, I am NOT the spoiler type. (As in for my Fanfic) So if you ask for one, don't expect one.

(4) A reviewer has said that Naruto's behavior is somewhat inconsistent. Jumping from the appropriate age level to one in his mid-teens. To explain this, I wanted to show that having a harsh childhood forces one to unconsciously grow up in some aspects. However, it does not change the fact that Naruto is still a child and is weak in some areas. Naruto can be immature in many ways, but mature in others due to experience. People grow mature because of experience in life, and Naruto has experience in some areas but not all. A harsh life like Naruto's can cause one to adapt and wise up in the areas needed. I thank the reviewer who pulled up this point so that I may clarify.


	6. Two Years Surprise

CrimsonCat101: I've been lost on the road of life…Hey its true! I've been busy, so anyway I wrote this chapter, then redid it. Apparently it came out good based on my BETA's comments. Hope you enjoy

Pairing News: I've decided there will be no pairing. I may do one in the future, but I plan on doing none at the moment. This story doesn't need a pairing.

I hope you enjoy this chapter

CrimsonCat101: I suggest reading taintedlegacy's, Prodigy of the Spirit Realm. It's a good read and I personally believe it deserves more reviews

Revised: 3/12/08 Explanation 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I repeat, I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.

Ghost Guardian

-Two Years Surprise-

(Overlook _Training Excluded_- Approx Year and 10 Months)

After Naruto had learned about his heritage, he found himself unable to call the Minato, dad. It was alien to him, that word. He had had tried to process the word when alone in the shower, and the word had been very awkward when slipping off his tongue. It was so weird, like he was saying a word he shouldn't. A word he would never use. A word in a language he had never heard of.

The week after finding out Minato was his father, he had avoided using that word. He knew Minato had probably noticed, but he couldn't, it was just too uncomfortable. He would grab Minato's attention by calling him Driftwood, or without using a name at all.

It was the week after that he had finally let the word slip without thought. He hadn't even realized it until he had seen Minato's overly large grin.

It had happened after Minato had given him advice on how to perform a jutsu. He was occupied with the thoughts of completing said jutsu, when he had let it slip. "Thanks Dad!" he had said. It took him five whole seconds to figure out why his father was grinning so large.

It was so awkward before, and now he had said it as if he had a hundred times. It made him strangely happy as well. It had confirmed the fact he had family, although it wasn't entirely living.

Minato had only grinned upon hearing him call him by the title of father, and never commented on it. Naruto was happy about that fact. He had to admit he didn't want to answer any questions about it.

The next week, Naruto found he was short on a few necessities and needed to go shopping.

* * *

(Flashback; Konoha Market Street) 

"Crap! Just great! I forgot to check how much ramen I had at home!" Naruto exclaimed, slapping a hand to his forehead.

Minato shrugged before replying. "I could go back and check for you if you want. That way you can continue shopping for everything else while I run back to the apartment."

Naruto nodded while in his clothed Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy no Jutsu) form. "I think that be best."

Minato nodded, and dashed off in the opposite direction. It wasn't long until Naruto was about to walk into a different store when he heard Minato cry out in pain.

"OWCH!"

He heard Minato curse afterward, something he could use against him later. Turning around Naruto ran towards the direction he heard his father's painful cry.

He found Minato red in the face while clutching his nose and squirming in pain.

Naruto chuckled as he approached him. "What the heck happened to you?" he questioned.

Minato sat up while still massaging the bridge of his nose. "I feel like I just ran into wall."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You already lost me. What 'wall' are you referring to?" Minato reached a hand out in front of him and waved it around. Naruto thought he had lost it.

"I could've sworn there was a wall there, it sure _felt _like it." Minato stood up and dusted imaginary dust from his cloak. "Maybe I made a solid surface without knowing…"

Naruto grinned foxily. "Well Driftwood, it is in your nature," he commented mischievously. Minato didn't hear Naruto's comment for he was already a good distance away and mumbling to himself. Naruto clenched his fist in annoyance, a red vein displayed on his head. "Hey! I was talking to you Driftwood!" Minato continued walking, Naruto cursed. "Damn!"

"I heard that!" Minato called in the distance without turning back to him.

Naruto huffed and walked back to the store he was going to enter previously.

* * *

(Change of view) 

Minato walked warily, afraid that he may walk into another invisible wall. It didn't take too long until it actually happened.

Minato walked into an invisible wall, staggering backward from the unexpected impact. "What the?" he questioned in confusion. Minato curiously laid his hand on the invisible wall.

"What is this?" Minato walked to the left in effort to get around the barrier, but there appeared to be no end to it. He also noticed that it was a round wall, not flat. It was like he was trapped in a large dome.

Then suddenly the wall pushed against him. "Ack!" he cried out in surprise. He let the wall push him a short distance until it stopped and changed directions, now pushing him to his left. _'What the heck is going on?' _he wondered. He looked in Naruto's direction and spotted Naruto off in the distance. He watched as Naruto stopped in front of a store to look at the display window, and at the same time the invisible barrier pushing him stopped as well.

It was then that Minato realized that Naruto was the center of the dome shaped barrier. It appeared he couldn't leave Naruto's side a certain distance.

Sighing, he walked back towards Naruto who was oblivious to the phenomenon that just took place.

"Naruto," he called, the blond turned to him in shock.

"How did you get back so fast?" he questioned in astonishment. Minato sighed.

"I never left Naruto, it appears I can't, so I need you to buy measuring tape."

Naruto sent him a puzzled look. "Huh?"

Minato shook his head. "Just do it. I'll explain later."

Naruto grumbled and changed direction, mumbling incoherent words under his breath.

(End Flashback)

Later that same day, Minato had measured how far the barrier was from Naruto. Apparently the radius of the dome was 50 feet (15.24 meters). Minato never noticed it before, but then again he had never left Naruto's side. Now he never would.

Naruto's life in the academy had improved, if slightly. He still asked Sakura out on dates, even though Minato disapproved. However one day Naruto decided to take a different approach.

* * *

(Flashback; The Academy) 

Naruto stared at Sakura forlornly, wishing to spend more time with her. He wanted to know the girl with long pink hair and emerald eyes. He stood up from his seat and approached her as usual, Minato shaking his head disappointingly in the background.

"Um Sakura-chan," he began.

Sakura turned to face him in annoyance, narrowing her eyes in the process. "No Naruto." Naruto shook his head, puzzling Sakura with his uncharacteristic behavior.

"I'm not going to ask you on a date," he said, starling Sakura, Minato, and Ino who was eavesdropping on the conversation.

"What?" Ino said, voicing the thoughts of those listening.

Naruto nodded shyly, stumbled his words as he spoke, "I was just wondering if you wanted to just spend time together, uh, training or something, as possibly friends."

Sakura blinked, seemingly consumed by her own thoughts as she looked at the blond standing before her.

* * *

(Change of view-Sakura) 

Sakura had no idea how to reply. Here was Naruto, the dead last of class, the one who constantly proclaimed the title of Hokage, and asked her out on dates everyday. Now he was asking for a chance at friendship with her.

Has the apocalypse suddenly taken a hold of the world? It was not in Naruto's character to _not_ ask her for a date, so why the change? He was stubborn to a fault. Maybe he finally realized that Sasuke-kun was the only one for her?

She was going to reply with a hasty "no" initially, but something stopped her from doing so. Naruto reminded her of her past with Ino. She was teased because of her obscenely large forehead and had no friends because of that fact. One day she was being bullied by a girl and her friends and Ino had chased them off and befriended her. She realized that Ino had given her a chance for friendship, so maybe this time she should give Naruto a chance.

Sakura looked at Naruto, who was oddly fidgeting under her studying gaze. Naruto appeared to be afraid of something, maybe rejection? Putting her thoughts aside she smiled at Naruto.

"I guess so, just so long as you don't ask me for any more dates." Naruto's face brightened as he nodded at her request. "Training Field 17 at noon this Saturday, don't be late."

Naruto grinned, "Thanks Sakura-chan!" Naruto ran back to his seat in obvious glee. Sakura hoped she didn't make a mistake.

* * *

(End Flashback) 

After that day, Naruto had a growing friendship with Sakura. He always came second to Sasuke, but Naruto didn't really care about that. He found that when Sakura wasn't fawning over Sasuke that she was actually a nice person and had hobbies he hadn't previously known about. For instance, Sakura loved to spend much of her free time in the library reading books.

Minato said he was surprised by how much knowledge she could memorize, and he found her studying tactics to be flawless. His father also told him that he was happy he had made a friend.

Overtime, Naruto and Sakura had come to a mutual understanding of one another. Their friendship, Naruto could tell, was not nearly as strong as Sakura's and Ino's had been, but was enough to satisfy him.

With Minato's influence, Naruto had also approached his shy admirer.

* * *

(Flashback; The Academy) 

Naruto was practicing throwing his kunai and shuriken. He was really good at it now, and could throw them quite a distance and still hit his intended mark. He also could hit moving targets, but right now he was working on distanced stationary targets. It was when he had thrown one of his shuriken that Minato grabbed his attention.

"Hey Naruto, you know you're being spied on right?"

Naruto scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion, before grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, now I do."

Minato smiled in what appeared to be a mischievous manner. "You should probably sneak up on them. It's your best course of action."

Naruto sent him a puzzled look, before shrugging in an uncaring manner. Making ten Kage Bunshins he made sure to get himself mixed in with them before jumping into the branches of a nearby tree, the Kage Bunshin staying below. He made the Kage Bunshin fight one another to make it look like it was some form of training, before beginning to sneak towards the one spying on him. Spotting a figure spying through a bush and at his clones, he snuck towards the figure's back until he was directly behind him/her.

"So, what are you doing spying on me?" The figure flinched violently when he spoke, and steadily turned around to face him.

Naruto was surprised to see Hinata's face, which was at the moment a deep shade of crimson. Her eyes widened to a large degree, before she promptly fainted on the spot.

"Hinata?"

* * *

(End Flashback) 

After she had awakened, Naruto attempted to have a conversation with her. She first apologized like mad, but Naruto brushed her apologies off. He was slightly annoyed by how much she stuttered when speaking, but he would never outwardly show it. He remained patient when he chatted with her, and he found out quite a bit about her. Apparently she was a part of the main house of the Hyuuga clan. A clan well-known for their powerful doujutsu, the Byukugan. Her father was also the head of the clan, and had been teaching her from a young age. She also spoke of her younger sister, Hanabi.

Her hobby was pressing flowers and one of her favorite foods was cinnamon rolls. Naruto wondered if she ever tried the heavenly gift that is ramen, so he was inclined to show her. He took her to his favorite ramen stand, Ichiraku, and had her try ramen. He of course had placed a large order of miso ramen, while Hinata only ordered one bowl.

She told Naruto that she loved it upon tasting, and Naruto had asked her to be his friend. "All ramen lovers should be friends," he had said. She had happily accepted his friendship and since then they had been good friends.

After a year of their friendship he found that Hinata's stuttering was slowly declining. Minato attributed it to the fact that they were spending more time with one another, and that Hinata was slowly getting used to handling his presence.

She was a nice friend to have, and he couldn't remember a time where she had laughed at him or mocked him of his class status.

His curiosity had taken a hold of him one day when he had spotted Shikamaru playing shougi. Naruto had approached him and watched him finish his match with the kid across from him. Shikamaru had won in the end, so Naruto challenged him to a match himself.

* * *

(Flashback; The Academy) 

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the young blond before him. He was challenging him to a match at shougi? Did he even know how to play? Naruto had a well-known reputation of being the dead last of class, so he predicted that he wouldn't be too good. He wasn't going to go easy on him though. Who knows, maybe Naruto had a hidden talent in strategy? It was doubtful, but still a possibility nonetheless.

'_Troublesome.'_

Naruto sat across from him, some of the crowd from the previous match dispersed, probably believing that Naruto didn't stand a chance against him. He couldn't blame though, it was highly unlikely that the blond would give him a decent game.

Naruto sent him a large grin. "Don't underestimate me. Or you'll regret."

He couldn't help but smile, it might not be a good match, but Naruto was going to make it some fun regardless.

It was about ten minutes into the game he started to wonder how long Naruto has been playing shougi. Naruto was actually a pretty good player, although he had to say he was better.

Naruto made a move five minutes later that he never saw. He was trapped. He had not seen what Naruto had been planning all along. Naruto had appeared to be moving his pieces randomly, but apparently that wasn't true. He looked at the board and studied all the moves he could possibly make.

Naruto grinned foxily. "Hah, got you now!"

A crowd had already gathered around them just a couple minutes ago, and had been chattering for a while now. They were unable to comprehend how the blond idiot had gotten the great shougi player to play with his full attention.

It was then that he spotted a way to get him out of the mess he had gotten himself into. Smiling he continued.

The match had finally ended in his favor. It was a good game, but he still had a few tricks. He had to admit he underestimated Naruto, that wasn't what he expected from the blond.

"Naruto you're pretty good at this game. I have to admit you actually made me think once in awhile."

Naruto smiled proudly. "Thanks I- Hey! What you mean think in once in awhile?" Naruto's right eye was twitching as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Naruto, half this class doesn't make me think at all. It's a compliment."

Naruto's face was scrunched up in puzzlement. "Thanks…I think."

Shikamaru smiled. Although Naruto surprised him with his skill in shougi, Naruto was still Naruto.

* * *

(End Flashback) 

After that match Naruto had challenged Shikamaru to games of shougi often. With the practice that he was getting from both Minato and Shikamaru, his strategizing improved greatly. Shikamaru seemed happy to face him, and eventually they had created a steady friendship. Naruto still couldn't beat Shikamaru, but he did make him concentrate.

Shikamaru was the lazy type of shinobi and unsurprisingly part of the Nara clan. Naruto had read about the Nara clan, and that they were renowned for laziness, but mostly their unexplainable genius. Their shadow techniques were also quite famous and were also an important part of the Ino-Shika-Cho team. Apparently the clan also owned a number of deer's as well, used for the Nara clan's medical ingredients. The Nara clan's Taijutsu was based on a deer's movements, or so Minato had explained. Minato also said that the Nara weren't really well rehearsed in Taijutsu, and that their chakra supplies were usually below the average. Their strength lied in their strategy and leadership skills, which were, as Minato described, a lot better then average. He probably learned more about them then that, but he couldn't remember anything else.

Shikamaru liked clouds, or maybe it was an excuse to just lie there he wasn't sure. Naruto also found that Shikamaru loved the word troublesome. Everything was "troublesome" to Shikamaru it seemed.

Although he had to agree with Shikamaru when he had described Sasuke as "too troublesome for words".

Minato's advice had been thrown aside a week after given, and Sasuke and him were already back to their old conversations. These conversations only consisted of throwing insults at one another. Sasuke always got on his nerves with every chance that he got. Naruto was jealous of the attention Sasuke got from the village on a daily basis, which was more then he got in a year. Though for some odd reason their insults to one another were strangely satisfying. Sometimes he even wanted to start a fight with the Uchiha just 'because'. He didn't understand it himself, but he guessed it was because he felt that Sasuke and him could relate to one another. Being alone was a feeling he thought Sasuke could understand, even if their situations were slightly different. Although that Sasuke's stuck-up attitude got on his nerves, it only made him want to surpass him more then before. So he could show the Uchiha he was more then just a failure and dead last. Proving himself to Sasuke was one step he unconsciously made for himself.

* * *

(Training Overlook- approx Year and 10 Months) 

Naruto's training had been going well for the most part. He caught onto some topics fast, while other things he would struggle with. However, Minato's patience helped him develop and progress quite well.

Throughout December, Minato continued to train Naruto after the academy and during the weekends. The young blond continued to learn all that Minato could offer. Naruto's shuriken and kunai accuracy improved to the point where he could hit the bulls-eye virtually every time. Well, when the target wasn't moving anyway.

Naruto had been taught the Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Kunai Shadow Clone Technique) and Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique) the same week the Sandaime had visited. Naruto had failed on many attempts, starting with not cloning the weapon at all, and then moving towards a large rain of lethal metal weapons. Minato had already known that he would be able to clone more than average with such a large chakra supply, and had him practice how many he created the next week. Naruto was fond of the two jutsu, seeing as it was highly offensive. Minato only wondered how his son would react when they got to explosives, for it seemed to him that he had a liking for destructive jutsus.

Naruto's chakra control remained steadier as he practiced tree walking every day in effort to control it. His chakra reserves grew exponentially as well, for the Kyuubi's chakra would mingle with his at times and expand his chakra coils. Minato still made Naruto workout underwater, but knew it wouldn't be too long until he was ready for the weights. He also practiced the Henge, Kawarimi, and Kage Bunshin no Jutsu in effort to make each skill better. Well, Naruto wanted to learn more jutsus, but Minato had told him that he must first become an expert in the basics before he moved onto harder things.

Minato realized overtime that Naruto would probably need to be able to make proper bunshins (clones) during the genin exams. Explaining how Naruto was able to perform a kinjutsu (Forbidden Technique) such as Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu) could be very problematic. He had tried many theories as to how he could get the younger blond to perform such a simple technique correctly, and found one that worked and another that had a high possibility of working. The one that did work, was instead of trying to create three bunshin, Naruto had to focus on creating many. He wasn't sure on the limit of how many Naruto _could _create, but knew that his limit of how _few_ he could create was six. Minato didn't know if they would make an exception for Naruto or not. The other theory was that Naruto strengthen his chakra control to around jounin level. In order to do this, Naruto would have to master water walking. So they tried it.

Water walking consisted of one using chakra to keep oneself located on top of the water surface. To accomplish water walking more quickly, he had Naruto try out a new training method. He didn't know too much on the method, seeing as it consumed too much chakra for the average person to even consider using, but Naruto was an exception. He had a large chakra supply, especially after four months of training. While using his chakra during training, a small amount of Kyuubi's chakra had lingered with Naruto's and helped expand his chakra coils on a daily basis. So using the Kage Bunshin method, the repercussions on him would be significantly less then it would for any other.

The Kage Bunshin method, consisted of Naruto creating multiple shadow clones, and using them to learn a technique, or in this case water walking, at a much faster rate. Kage Bunshin become separate units after being created by the original, so when they are dispersed or destroyed, the original regains the memories of that particular bunshin.

Naruto had created twenty Kage Bunshin in order to learn water walking, and ended up learning it in no less then two days. The theory ended up working and now he was able to create three perfect bunshin. The method was a success, not counting the migraine Naruto had developed later, and Minato began to seek new ways in which they could input the use of the method.

Minato had him try using Kage Bunshin in order to gain knowledge from text books faster. Unfortunately, using the method for informative books didn't work out as well as Minato had hoped. Apparently making them do separate tasks was slightly more taxing on the mind, and caused Naruto to lose consciousness because of high mental stress and pain after using twenty Kage Bunshin. Even after the pain, Naruto explained the information was so jumbled he had a hard time making sense of any of it. Minato tried a different method; having Naruto create ten Kage Bunshin and having them each read a different book. After all the clones had finished reading, Minato had him disperse each one, one at a time. Naruto dispersed the first clone and took a minute to digest the new information before moving on to disperse the second clone. In about ten minutes all the clones were dispersed and Naruto explained that he felt like he read all the books. Minato was happy by this point, because the method appeared to be a success.

After finding out that Naruto could use the Kage Bunshin method, Minato observed him to see his limit on how many clones he could create. He didn't want Naruto relying on the Kyuubi's chakra, because by doing so he wouldn't develop his own chakra coils as fast as he could. By only using his own, he would be able to enlarge them, because he wouldn't be depleting his own reserves entirely. But with Naruto enlarging his own reserves, it would take longer for Naruto to call upon the Kyuubi's chakra. However, relying on the Kyuubi's chakra wouldn't strengthen his own reserves or the Kyuubi's, which wouldn't be very beneficial.

Through observation and experimentation, he found Naruto could create seventeen Kage Bunshin before he started drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra. Minato was actually fairly impressed by this amount, but he did have to add the fact that Kyuubi's chakra was slowly turning into Naruto's own. A small amount of demonic chakra was constantly in Naruto's system, becoming purified by Naruto's chakra, so that it became his own. When Naruto draws upon Kyuubi's chakra, he becomes over flooded by the demonic chakra, restarting the process of the Kyuubi chakra purification. There is also the fact that if he were to rely on the demonic chakra, he would become vulnerable if demon's chakra was somehow sealed. The best choice for Naruto was to not draw upon the Kyuubi's chakra any time it could be avoided.

Minato had also taught Naruto of the use of wires, as well as traps. He had picked up on the subject quickly with the help of Kage Bunshin, and started using the lessons to make his harmless pranks more elaborate. One happened to make Iruka very…bright so to speak. Iruka had showed up to class in a multitude of paint colors. The class had a good laugh and he was punished for a month, scrubbing toilets and such. The best part about it was Iruka's hair wasn't the same for approximately two weeks.

Naruto had also made an effort not talk to Minato in public, letting Minato do all the talking for him, and ridding of suspicions people may have. The blond easily got frustrated with his training, usually dealing with his slow progress in some areas. Minato had noticed that Naruto's patience was not very high, and that was something that he had decided to fix. In order to combat the problem, Minato had taught Naruto how to be patient through practical methods. His methods ranged from Naruto sitting in a circle for a couple of hours, to observing a random target for a day. His random target was always a simple villager, and was always male. Minato did not want Naruto to become a pervert, especially because his wife would probably murder him in the afterlife, if he ever went there anyway.

Naruto's lessons in patience were indeed slow in progress, taking weeks to achieve a reasonable level. In the beginning it had always been constant complaining, but had lessened over time, albeit slowly. The patience lessons also helped develop Naruto's stealth, but mostly his ability to follow orders. Naruto had a rebellious nature, much like Minato, and decided to do whatever he thought best. Minato had made him do small tasks to help with patience, but it also helped Naruto's capability to follow orders. Minato didn't want Naruto following rules like his student Kakashi once did, but he didn't want Naruto to turn out not listening to his leader at all.

Minato had also learned of Naruto's short fuse so to speak. It appeared Naruto had a very short temper, which ruined the whole point of the patience lessons. His temper reminded Minato of his wife, for it was definitely one of her problematic traits. He knew there was no way to fix it, maybe lessen it, but never fix entirely. He lectured Naruto about the problem, and the consequences of acting so brash. He knew Naruto understood, but his temper was one thing he had to fix himself.

Minato also went over the basics with Naruto that were taught in the academy, such as the Nawanuke no Jutsu (Rope Escape Technique) and the Kakuremino no Jutsu (Cloak of Invisibility Technique). Naruto already knew how to do the Kakuremino no Jutsu quite well already, so they didn't spend much time on that. Nawanuke no Jutsu was a different story and about two hours with the help of fifteen Kage Bunshin. Apparently Naruto hadn't paid too much attention to this particular segment in the academy.

When they reached study on explosives, Naruto was strangely upset. Minato had found it hard to believe that Naruto would not like, "blowing things up". Minato was confused, but when Naruto evaluated, he told the older blond he wanted to learn new jutsu, and that they already learned Jibaku Fuda: Kassei (Explosive Tag: Activate) at the academy. Minato had then explained that he would teach him more about explosives before the academy did, but Naruto was not as excited as he thought the younger blond would be. It was when he showed Naruto how to set up perimeters set to explode on an opponent that Naruto soon became interested. Minato taught him the Kekkai Hōjin (Barrier Encampment Method), and Naruto soon took a liking to explosives. Minato reasoned it was due to his prankster personality. Naruto learned how to adjust the seals slightly on an explosive note so that he could adjust the size of the explosion, something they didn't teach at the academy. Minato found Naruto usually loved to make his explosions bigger then normal, which he already predicted would happen.

Naruto practiced his speed at hand signs, a sure way to get an advantage in battle. He already had quite a good speed built up already on his own, but Minato had told the younger blond that even ¼ of a second could make a large difference in battle, for it could mean life or death. He worked diligently on it afterward without complaining, well most of the time anyway. His hand sign speed increased slightly, but Minato said his results made all the difference.

Minato had also gone over the uses of various ninja tools, ranging from soldier and blood pills, to poison and stink bombs. There were many types of ninja tools, beyond hundreds, and explaining every single one of them would take too much time, an approximate five years, or seven months with Kage Bunshin. Memorizing each would take even longer than that. So Naruto ended up learning most on the more important tools, and a vague description of the other minor tools, if even that.

Naruto's general knowledge had developed over time, a slow a painstaking process, but a profitable one in the end. Eventually his that knowledge compared to a high genin, or low chunin, which was better then most in his class save for a scant few. Naruto also was taught the game of shougi, a highly strategic game, which would help Naruto create successful battle plans on the field. When he played it would look to others as though Naruto was playing against himself, when in truth Minato told Naruto which pieces he wanted to move on his turn, being that he couldn't move them himself. Naruto lost every time, and still did, but Minato knew that Naruto was slowly becoming quite good at the game. Using Kage Bunshin wasn't much of an option here, because playing yourself wouldn't help one improve. It would be like facing a Kage Bunshin for Taijutsu. Fighting a Kage Bunshin would be good for testing moves, but pointless when learning how to fight. Facing yourself gives you the advantage of knowing what would come next, and facing the same style as your own wouldn't do too much good either. It doesn't help that they disappear with only one blow.

Naruto's taijutsu skills have improved significantly as well. His form had sharpened with practice, moving through both the basic and intermediate katas of the Uindo Saafin fluidly. His speed and strength had increased to the level of chunin as well, a good feat to say the least. Naruto had worn the weights during some of his training exercises, and had token them off afterward. After all, his balance and speed would be offset once the weights were taken off. The only thing they couldn't work on was fighting instinct, in which Naruto would need a sparring partner in order to sharpen. Until Naruto was placed on a genin team, Naruto would be unable to work in some areas, which included genjutsu.

Genjutsu was the art of illusion, and knowing him and his wife, it was probably not Naruto's forte. However, unable to cast genjutsu is one thing, not being able to escape it is another. Minato was unable to use chakra, because chakra was a mix of spiritual and physical energies, and he only had spiritual. Even if he did posses chakra, he would be unable to affect anyone with it. He had wondered before if they could enter Naruto's seal again and practice, but apparently that didn't work either. It appeared that Naruto's mind had to be mentally unstable, usually dealing with feelings of anger and shock. The Kyuubi could also bring Naruto to the cage himself if he wished, but he would probably only do so when his life was on the line. So for now, genjutsu was Naruto's weakness, but that could be worked out later.

Ninjutsu, Naruto's favorite type of jutsu, was a topic that was slightly easier for Naruto to grasp. At first he taught Naruto a few D-ranks that included Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique) and the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique). The Shunshin no Jutsu was a ninjutsu that Naruto grasped quite easily. Naruto only took a week to get the jutsu down quite well. The technique allowed Naruto to appear and disappear in an instant, a basic jutsu taught to all genin, and used by many shinobi. After the initial week of teaching it to Naruto he had taught him how to use his surroundings to mask his movement and sound. Naruto had practiced using leaves, puffs of smoke, as well as flowers. The two found that leaves were probably the easiest to use in Konoha, but outside the circumstances may be different.

Minato had also taught Naruto three fire jutsus he knew. Two were at a C-rank level, and the last one was a B-rank. Katon jutsus required more chakra then ordinary jutsus because of their elemental nature, but it was something Naruto had plenty of. He had a slightly more difficult time learning the fire techniques, but eventually learned them in the end. The two C-rank took Naruto one month to learn and the B-rank took another. For all three jutsu he had used Kage Bunshin, but he could only summon five without depleting his own chakra. Overall it wasn't bad to Minato; actually Naruto's progress was quite good for his age, something he found he was quite proud of.

Minato had found what Naruto's elemental affinity was, and he wasn't too surprised to say the least. Naruto's affinity was that of wind nature, the same as himself. It wasn't hard to notice, especially when he taught him the C-rank jutsu, Fuuton: Diatoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) and he had got it down in two days. After that Naruto spent a week on making the jutsu more powerful, until he could uproot quite a few of trees with it. Minato was happy with his progress on the Fuuton jutsu, and made note of that fact for future reference.

Stealth was a topic he had found himself teaching Naruto after a painful display made by said ninja. Naruto could be quiet when he wanted, sure, but Naruto's movements were poor to say the least. His movements when sneaking were clumsier then he thought, and to noticeable. Naruto also moved too slowly, taking too much time to tread dangerous waters. Deciding to fix this problem, he had Naruto practice stealth in a heavily wooded training area. Training area twenty-three, was full of trees, and that meant many sticks and broken branches. Naruto had snapped many branches in the first week of stealth training, something he wasn't too surprised about. Eventually the amount of sounds he made decreased. After two months, Naruto was finally able to make close to no sound as he moved. Another month was spent on speeding up Naruto's movements, taking less time to stealthily approach a target.

Naruto's was unable to hide his chakra signature to any degree, a weakness that would ruin all of his stealth training. Naruto had a lot of chakra to hide, and to hide such a large amount required a lot of chakra control. With Naruto's jounin level chakra control from the water-walking exercise, they were able to progress fairly quickly. Using Kage Bunshin, it took approximately three months until Naruto was able to conceal his chakra from most high chunin level opponents. It was a good amount of progress on stealth, especially considering their starting point.

After a year and two months had passed since the start of Naruto's training, Minato thought it was time to start Naruto in Fūin no Jutsu (Sealing Techniques). Naruto had asked about it previously, but he never thought the blond was ready with his current knowledge. Seals were in close relationship with mathematical formulas, which wasn't Naruto's strongpoint at the time. Minato had finally decided to teach Naruto the basics of sealing, something he believed he would be able to grasp at this certain point in time. Naruto had taken to Fūin Jutsu quite well, and he was thoroughly impressed. Naruto hadn't grasped the concept nearly as fast as he had, but he was fourteen when he started to learn about them. After three months of Fūin Jutsu instruction, Naruto was finally able to make a storage seal, capable of sealing multiple items, while understanding its mechanics. Naruto's studies in Fūin no Jutsu continued well throughout the rest of his training.

It was during the last four months of Naruto's training that Minato decided to give Naruto an A rank-jutsu that would guarantee him a large advantage in the field. Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion). Bunshin Daibakuha was used in combination with the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique). The user would first create a Kage Bunshin, and then igniting it like an explosive tag, blow up the opponent. This was very effective, because one, the opponent would not know if it was the real Naruto, and two, at close range, it was a very deadly technique. The drawback, however, is the large amount of chakra required to use it. Fortunately, Naruto had access to a lot of chakra. He estimated that Naruto, with his current chakra capacity, would be able to use the technique twice before having to rely on the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto had taken the entire four months to learn it, which was actually quite fast considering the technique. But then again, Minato had to remind himself that this was his son.

To Naruto, time seemed to carry on much faster then before. It was as if time had sped up for no reason whatsoever. It might have been due to the fact that he wanted time to slow down. Why? He had Minato. He had friends. When previously he had been alone, wanting only for the day to end, now he only wished the days to be longer. But now that he wanted time to slow, it only moved that much faster. Time continued on, all the way to the Genin Exams.

* * *

(October 22nd, Friday; 6:15AM) 

Beep…Beep…Be-

Naruto shut the alarm off, and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He yawned exhaustingly, before stretching and rolling to his side. He tightened the hold on his pillow, as he began to fall back to blissful sleep.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Minato wasn't going to let him sleep in peace. "Come on Naruto, I know you don't want to miss a day at the academy."

Naruto grumbled a soft reply. "Guess again."

Minato gave and exasperated sigh, before smiling mischievously, "Alright, I guess that's fine if you don't want to become a genin…"

Naruto's expression scrunched up in bewildered thought before it clicked and he bolted upright. "The Genin Exams!" Naruto exclaimed loudly.

Minato smiled. "Yep, but I guess you don't want to go," he teased.

Naruto grinned. "Yeah right!" he shouted happily, before jumping off his bed and getting ready in record time.

Minato chuckled at Naruto's reply, before turning around and sweatdropping at the sight of Naruto hastily going through his morning routine.

Minato shook his head with a knowing smile, knowing that they were probably going to arrive at the academy much earlier than usual. The Genin Exams were today, and Naruto seemed to be more than excited.

* * *

(October 22nd, Friday; 1:00PM; The Academy) 

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke exited the classroom with his hands in his pockets, and a confident smirk on his face. Minato watched as Naruto's nerves kicked up another notch. No one may have noticed due to the deceiving front Naruto had put up, but Minato was immune to it. The Yondaime could feel Naruto nervousness roll off him in waves.

Minato placed a hand on Naruto, although he or Naruto couldn't feel it, the presence was there. Naruto turned to face Minato after seeing the hand placed on his shoulder.

Minato gave a comforting smile. "Relax. You'll do fine, and I'll even be there with you the entire time."

Naruto managed a weak honest smile as he mumbled a reply. "Thanks."

"No problem, you're up next. Just be confident in your abilities."

Naruto grinned widely. "Heh, I'll pass this test with flying colors. You can count on it."

Minato gave a grin similar to Naruto's. "That's the spirit."

The kid behind the blond looked at Naruto oddly. "Who are you talking to?" he questioned.

Naruto jumped in slight surprise. "Eh? No one, just myself."

The kid shrugged uncaringly and returned to his work. Naruto mentally sighed in relief however his short moment of relief was then destroyed.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto's breath hitched, but he relaxed quickly after. Minato guessed that he had remembered his words.

Naruto exited the classroom door and walked towards the room being used for the examination. The blond turned the doorknob and stepped inside, the Yondaime following him with every step.

"Stand at the center Naruto, the test will begin shortly," Iruka said gesturing towards the front. Mizuki sat beside Iruka clicking his finger in what appeared to be impatience.

Minato smiled beside Naruto, "Good luck," he said, before stepping aside and letting Naruto walked towards the spot designated by Iruka.

Naruto stood, a serious expression filled with raw determination present on his face, instead of the usual carefree attitude he was known for.

"Alright Naruto, I've already told you for this test you must perform the Bunshin no Jutsu and create three clones."

Naruto nodded and gathered chakra, taking a slightly longer time to adjust it before calling out the name of the jutsu. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Three Bunshins appeared to Naruto's left and right. Naruto immediately checked the condition of his Bunshins upon completion of the jutsu.

He was happy to find three perfect Bunshins.

"Yatta!" Naruto shouted happily, pumping his fist into the air.

Iruka smiled at the young blond for his achievement, obviously happy with the outcome. "Congratulations Naruto, come up here and receive your Hitai-ate. You are now an official ninja of Konohagakure. I wish you luck in your future endeavors." Naruto ginned insanely and grabbed the Hitai-ate from the desk, tying it immediately around his forehead.

Minato walked over to his son and sent him a soft smile, exiting the examination room with the younger blond. "I told you it be fine. Now come on, we're going to Ichiraku's."

This was one of those moments he wished to ruffle Naruto's hair. It was like instinct, he knew this moment called for it, but he simply couldn't with his ghostly 'conditions'. Naruto's hair needed to be ruffled! Why? He couldn't explain it. It just…just needed ruffling!

"Why is your hand twitching?"

Minato snapped back into reality and grinned sheepishly whilst scratching the back of his head. He stopped his other hand's visible twitching. "Uh, no reason…Hey! There's Ichiraku's!" he cried, pointing in the direction of Naruto's favorite ramen bar.

Naruto instantly forgot about his twitching hand and dashed off towards ramen joint, leaving a gust of debris in his wake. "Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" Naruto chanted loudly.

Minato shook his head knowingly and dashed after his hyperactive son. When he entered Ichiraku, Naruto had already seated himself and had placed his order.

"Naruto you brought cash right?"

Naruto waited until Teuchi was preoccupied before answering. Naruto had learned not to talk to him in front of others, although it took the younger blond quite a while. "Daaaad, of course I did! See!" Naruto pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal the frog wallet named Gama-chan.

As Minato nodded in acceptance, Teuchi came back with two bowls for Naruto start off with. Naruto eyed the ramen predatorily and licked his lips hungrily before grinning.

"Itadakimasu!"

Naruto began to devour the ramen noodles in a way that would make most cringe upon seeing his ill manners. Minato had to wonder if perhaps he should teach Naruto proper etiquette.

He pushed those thoughts aside as he remembered what he originally had in mind.

"Hey Naruto," he began. It effectively grabbed Naruto's notice, as the younger blond had flicked his eyes over in his direction. "I have a surprise for you, so we're going to head over to the training grounds after this."

Naruto raised his eyebrows and blinked questionably before returning to the task of hastily consuming his multiple ramen bowls.

* * *

(October 22nd, Friday; 2:30PM; Training Field 24) 

"So, so, what's the surprise?" Naruto asked eagerly. The Yondaime shook his head with a small smile.

"Patience." Naruto knew what he was asking of him, but he couldn't help it. Surprises always took too long to be revealed…well at least for him anyway.

"What is it?!" He blurted out loudly. Minato sighed upon knowing that his request would never happen.

"Well," Minato began. "I'm proud to know that you graduated from the academy, so I decided to get you a little 'gift' so to speak." Naruto clenched his fists in excitement, a grin displayed fully upon his face. Minato spoke before he could question him again. "And I'll demonstrate to you now."

Naruto watched Minato attentively, his eyes never leaving his father's figure as he stood in front of him.

(1) Minato held out his right hand, a swirling mass of white began to concentrate in his open palm. The mass of white began to form the shape of a sphere, and before Naruto could observe further, dissipated.

"Huh? What was that?"

Minato smiled. "The Rasengan, however I wasn't able to display its power for obvious reasons."

"Oh, um, what does it do?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well," Minato began to explain. "The Rasengan I just used was composed of sprit energy, but what it should be composed of is chakra. I've been working on it at night for the past couple months just to show you. The real Rasengan was one of my signature jutsu and A-rank for that matter."

"A-rank!? Awesome! I'm learning another A-rank!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

"Okay, let's go get you some water balloons," Minato chuckled.

"All ri-Wait what?"

"You'll see Naruto, you'll see."

* * *

(October 22nd, Friday; 1:30PM; Konoha) 

"The Kyuubi brat ruined plan B. I suppose it's back to plan A." With that Mizuki looked towards his destination and vanished using Shunshin. A few leaves rustled where he had left.

* * *

CrimsonCat101: There you have it! Hoped you enjoyed it! Please review, it does make my day 

1) Whoops! My bad! That was my mistake, you know how excited I was to get this chapter out. So I went back and fixed it, thanks for pointing it out.


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